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REPORT 


A  COMMITTEE 

ON  OTE  SUBJECT 

OF  PAUPERISM. 


Ncw-Forfe  : 

PRINTED  BY  SAMUEL  WOOD  &  80NB, 
NO.  261,  PEARL-STBEET. 

1818. 


AT  a  meeting  of  a  respectable  number  of  citieens  convened 
at  tbe  New-York  Hospital,  on  Friday  the  t6th  of  December,  to 
take  into  consideration  the  subject  of  Pauperism,  General  Mat- 
thew Clarkson  was  appointed  chairman,  and  Di^e  Bethune,  sec- 
retary. 

On  motion  of  Charles  Wilkes,  Esq.  seconded  by  Wm.  Johnson, 
Esq.  it  was  unanimously  .• 

Resolved,  That  the  citizens  present,  with  those  who  may  here- 
after unite  in  the  measure,  be  cogstituted  a  Society  for  the  preven- 
tion of  Pauperism. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  Con- 
stitution for  the  government  of  the  society,  and  a  statement  of  the 
prevailing  causps  of  Pauperism,  \j  ith  suggestions  relative  to  the 
most  suitable  and  efficient  remedies  ;  whereupon  the  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  a  committee  for  that  purpose,  viz.  John 
Griscom,  Hrockholst  Livingston,  Garrett  N.  BIceker,  Thomas 
Eddy,  James  Eastburn,  Rev.  Cave  Jones,  Zachariah  Lewis,  and 
Divie  Bethune,  who  were  requested,  when  ready  to  report,  to  con- 
vene the  society  for  that  purpose. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  society  on  Friday,  the  6lh  of  February, 
1818,  the  following  report  from  the  Committee  was  read  :  where- 
upon, it  was 

Resolved,  That  1000  copies  of  the  Report  and  Constitution 
be  published  for  distribution,  under  the  direction  of  the  same  cora- 
mitteei 


REPORT 

Oir  THE 

Subject  of  Pauperism. 

To  the  "  New-  York  Society  for  the  prevention 
vf  Pauperism." 

THE  committee  appointed  to  prepa.e  a  Coostitution 
for  the  government  of  the  society,  and  a  statement  of  the 
prevailing  causes  of  pauperism,  with  suggestions  relative 
to  the  most  suitable  aad  efficient  remedies.  Report, 

THAT  we  entered  upon  the  duties  assigned  us,  un- 
der a  strong  conviction  of  the  great  importance  of  the 
subject  of  Pauperism.  We  were  persuaded  that  on  the  judi- 
cious management  of  this  subject,  depend,  in  a  high  degree, 
the  comfort,  the  tranquillity,  and  the  freedom  of  communi- 
ties. We  were  not  insensible  of  the  serious  and  alarm- 
ing evils  that  have  resulted,  in  various  places,  from  mis- 
guided benevolence,  and  imprudent  systems  of  relief.  AVe 
knew  that  in  Europe  and  America,  w  here  the  greatest  efforts 
have  been  made  to  provide  for  the  sufferings  of  the  poor, 
by  high  and  even  enormous  taxation,  those  sufferings  were 
increasing  in  a  ratio  much  greater  than  the  population, 
and  were  evidently  augmented  by  the  very  means  taken 
to  subdue  then). 

We  were  fully  prepared  to  believe,  that  without  a  radi- 
cal change  in  the  principles  upon  which  public  alms  have 


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been  usually  distributed,  helplessness  and  poverty  would 
continue  to  multiply — demands  for  relief  would  become 
more  and  more  importunate,  the  numerical  difference  be. 
tween  those  who  are  able  to  bestow  charity  and  those  who 
sue  for  it,  would  gradually  diminish,  until  the  present  sys- 
tem must  fall  under  its  own  irresistible  pressure,  prostiat- 
ing  perhaps,  in  its  ruin,  some  of  the  pillars  of  social  order. 

It  might  be  long  indeed,  before  such  a  catastrophe  would 
be  extensively  felt  in  this  free  and  happy  country.  Yet,  it  is 
really  to  be  feared,  as  we  apprehend,  that  it  would  not  be  long 
before  some  of  the  proximate  evils  of  such  a  state  of  things 
would  be  perceived  in  our  public  cities,  and  in  none,  per- 
haps, sooner  than  in  New-York.  Although  these  conse- 
quences are  but  too  apparent  from  the  numerous  facts 
which  recent  investigations  have  brought  to  light,  particu- 
larly in  Great  Britain,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  United 
States,  yet  we  are  very  sensible  of  the  dilKiculties  attendant 
upon  every  attempt  to  provide  an  adequate  remedy  for 
poverty,  and  its  concomitant  wretchedness. 

The  evil  lies  deep  in  the  foundation  of  our  social  and 
moral  institutions;  and  we  cannot  but  consider  it  as  one  of 
the  most  obscure  and  perplexing,  and  at  tiie  same  time,  in- 
teresting and  imposing  departments  of  political  economy. 

While  there  exists  so  great  a  disparity  in  the  physical 
and  intellectual  capacities  of  men,  there  must  be,  in  every 
government,  where  a  division  of  property  is  recognised  by 
law  and  usage,  a  wide  difference  in  the  means  of  support. 
Such,  too,  is  the  complication  of  human  affairs,  the  numer- 
ous connections,  and  close  dependencies  of  one  part  upon 
another,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  presumed,  and  it  would  be  ex- 
travagant to  expect,  that  under  the  most  moral,  and  the 
wisest  civil  regulation  to  whicii  human  society  is  suscepti- 
ble of  attaining,  partial  indigence  and  distress  will  not  be 


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expcrieoced  to  an  amount  that  vill  ever  demand  the  exer- 
cise of  Christian  benevolence. 

Tlie  great  and  leading  principles,  therefore,  of  every 
system  of  Charity,  ought  to  be,  First,  Amply  to  relieve  the 
unavoidable  necessities  of  the  poor ;  and  Secondly,  to  lay 
the  powerful  hand  of  moral  and  legal  restriction  upon  eve- 
rj' thing  that  contributes,  directly  and  necessarily,  to  in- 
troduce an  artificial  extent  of  suffering  ;  and  to  diminish, 
in  any  class  of  the  community,  a  reliance  upon  its  own  pow- 
ers of  body  and  mind  for  an  independent  and  virtuous  sup- 
port. That  to  the  influence  of  those  extraneous,  debili- 
tating causes,  may  be  ascribed  nine  tenths  of  the  poverty 
which  actually  prevails,  we  trust,  none  will  doubt  who  are 
extensively  acquainted  with  facts  in  relation  to  this  subject. 

The  indirect  causes  of  poverty  are  as  numerous  as  the 
frailties  and  vices  of  men.  They  vary  with  constitution, 
witli  character,  and  with  national  and  local  habits.  Some 
of  them  lie  so  deeply  entrenched  in  the  weakness  and  de- 
pravity of  human  nature,  as  to  be  altogether  unassailable 
by  mere  political  regulation.  They  can  be  reached  in  no 
other  way,  than  by  awakening  the  dormant  and  secret  en- 
ergies of  moral  feeling. 

But  with  a  view  to  bring  the  subject  committed  to  our 
charge,  more  definitply  before  the  society,  we  have  thought 
it  right,  distinctly  to  enumerate  the  more  prominent  of  those 
causes  of  poverty,  which  prevail  within  this  city  ;  sub- 
joining such  remarks  as  may  appear  needful. 

1st  Ignorance,  arising  either  from  inherent  dullness, 
or  from  want  of  opportunities  for  improvement.  This  op- 
erates as  a  restraint  upon  the  pliysical  powers,  preventing 
that  exercise  and  cultivation  of  the  bodily  faculties  by 
which  skill  is  obtained,  and  the  means  of  support  increased. 
The  influence  of  this  cause,  it  is  believed,  is  particularly 


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great  among  the  foreign  poor  that  annually  accumulate  ia 
Ibis  city. 

2dc1,  Idleness.  A  tendency  to  this  evil  may  be  more 
or  less  inherent.  It  is  greatly  increased  by  other  causes, 
and  when  it  becomes  habitual,  it  is  the  occasion  of  much 
suffering  in  fan;iilies,  and  augments  to  a  great  amount  the 
burden  of  the  industrious  portions  of  society. 

3d.  Intempfrance  in  drinking.  Tliis  most  prol'fic 
source  of  mischief  and  misery,  drags  in  its  train  almost 
every  species  of  suffering  which  afflicts  the  poor.  This 
evil,  in  relation  to  poverty  and  vic6,  may  be  emphatically 
styled,  the  Cause  of  Causes.  The  box  of  Pandora  is  re- 
alized in  each  of  the  kegs  of  ardents  spirits  that  stand  up- 
on the  counters  of  the  1 600  hundreti  licensed  grocers  of 
this  city.  At  a  moderate  computation,  the  money  spent  in 
the  purchase  of  spirituous  liquors  would  be  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  keep  the  whole  city  constantly  supplied  with 
bread.  Viewing  the  enormous  devastations  of  this  evil 
upon  the  minds  and  morals  of  the  people,  we  cannot  but 
regard  it  as  the  crying  and  iucreasing  sin  of  the  nation, 
and  as  loudly  demanding  the  solemn  deliberation  of  our 
legislative  assemblies. 

4th.  Want  of  economy.  Prodigality  is  comparative. 
Among  the  poor,  it  prevails  to  a  great  extent,  in  an  inat- 
tention to  those  small,  but  frequent  savings  when  labour  is 
plentiful,  which  may  go  to  meet  the  privations  of  unfavour- 
able seasons. 

6th.  Imprudent  and  hasty  marriages.  This,  it 
is  believed  is  a  fertile  source  of  trial  and  poverty, 

6th.  Lotteries.  The  depraving  nature  and  tenden- 
cy of  these  allurements  to  hazard  money,  is  generally  ad- 
mitted by  those  who  have  been  most  attentive  to  their  ef- 
fects.   The  time  spent  in  inquiries  relative  to  lotteries, 


in  frequent  attendance  on  lottery  olBces,  the  feverish  anxi- 
ety which  prevails  relative  to  the  success  of  tickets,  the  as- 
sociations to  which  it  leads,  ail  contribute  to  divert  the  la- 
bourer from  his  employment,  to  weaken  the  tone  of  his  mor- 
als, to  consume  his  earnings,  and  consequently  to  increase  his 
poverty.  But  objectionable  and  injurious  to  society  as  we 
believe  lotteries  to  be,  we  regard  as  more  destructive  to 
morals,  and  ruinous  to  all  character  and  comfort,  the  nu- 
merous self-erected  lottery  insurances,  at  which  the  young 
and  the  old  are  invited  to  spend  their  money  in  such  small 
pittances,  as  the  poorest  labourer  is  frequently  able  to  com- 
mand, under  the  delusive  expectation  of  a  gain,  the  chance 
of  which  is  as  low,  perhaps,  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 
The  poor  are  thus  cheated  out  of  their  money  and  their 
time,  and  too  often  left  a  prey  to  the  feelings  of  despera- 
tion :  or,  they  are  impelled  by  those  feelings  to  seek  a  re- 
fuge in  the  temporary,  but  fatal  oblivion  of  intoxication. 

7th.  Pawnbrokers.  The  establishment  of  these  offi- 
ces is  considered  as  very  unfavourable  to  the  independence 
and  welfare  of  the  middling  and  inferior  classes.  The  arn 
tifices  which  are  often  practised  to  deceive  the  expecta- 
tions of  those  who  are  induced,  through  actual  distress,  or 
by  positive  allurement,  to  trust  their  ^.oods  at  these  pla- 
ces,  not  to  mention  the  facilities  which  they  afford  to  the 
commission  of  theft,  and  the  encouragement  they  give  to  a 
dependence  on  stratagem  and  cunning,  ratiier  than  on  tlie 
profits  of  honest  industry,  fairly  entitle  them,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  committee,  to  a  place  among  the  causes  of 
Poverty. 

8th.  Houses  of  ill  fame.  The  direful  effects  of 
those  sinks  of  iniquity,  npon  the  habits  and  morals  of  a 
numerous  class  of  young  men,  especially  of  sailors  and  ap- 
prentices, are  visible  throughout  the  city.    Open  abandon- 


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ineut  of  character,  vulg;arity,  profanity,  <fec.  are  among  the 
inevitable  consequences,  as  it  respects  our  own  sex,  of  those 
places  of  infamous  resort.  Their  effects  upon  the  several  thou- 
sands of  females  within  this  city,  who  are  ingulphed  iu  those 
abodes  of  all  that  is  vile,  and  all  that  is  shocking  to  virtu- 
ous thought,  upon  the  miserable  victims,  many  of  ihem  of 
decent  families,  who  are  here  subjected  to  the  most  cruel 
tyranny  of  their  inhuman  masters — upon  the  females,  who, 
hardened  in  crime,  are  nightly  sent  from  those  dens  of  cor- 
ruption to  roam  through  the  city,  "  seeking  whom  they 
may  devour,"  we  have  not  the  inclination,  nor  is  it  our 
duty  to  describe.  Among  "  the  causes  of  poverty,"  those 
houses,  where  all  the  base-born  passions  are  engendered — 
where  the  vilest  profligacy  receives  a  forced  culture,  must 
hold  an  eminent  rank. 

9tb.  The  numerous  chabitablk  institutions  of 
THE  CITY.  The  committee  by  no  means  intend  to  cast  an 
indiscriminate  censure  upon  these  institutions,  nor  to  im- 
plicate the  motives,  nor  even  to  deny  the  usefulness,  in  a 
certain  degree,  of  any  one  of  them.  They  have  unques- 
tionably had  their  foundation  in  motives  of  true  Philan- 
thropy ;  they  have  contributed  to  cultivate  the  feelings  of 
christian  charity,  and  to  keep  alive  its  salutary  influence 
upon  the  minds  of  our  fellow-citizens;  and  they  have 
doubtless  relieved  thousands  from  the  pressure  of  the  most 
piDching  want,  from  cold,  from  hunger,  and  probably  in 
many  cases,  from  untimely  death. 

But,  in  relation  to  these  societies,  a  question  of  no  ordi- 
nary moment  piesents  itself  to  the  considerate  and  real 
philanthropist.  Is  not  the  partial  and  temporary  good 
which  they  accomplish,  how  acute  soever  the  miseries 
they  relieve,  and  whatever  the  number  they  may  rescue 
from  sufferings  or  death,  more  than  counterbalanced,  by 


the  evils  that  flow  from  the  expectatioDs  they  necessarily 
excite ;  by  the  relaxation  of  industry,  which  such  a  display 
of  benevolence  tends  to  produce ;  by  that  reliance  upon 
charitable  aid,  in  case  of  unfavourable  times,  which  must 
unavoidably  tend  to  diminish,  in  the  minds  of  the  labouring 
classes,  that  wholesome  anxiety  to  provide  for  the  wants 
of  a  distant  day,  which  alone  can  save  them  from  a  state 
of  absolute  dependance,  and  from  becoming  a  burden  to 
the  community  ? 

In  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  and  in  the  opinion, 
we  believe,  of  the  greater  number  of  the  best  writers,  of 
the  wisest  economists,  and  of  the  most  experienced  philan- 
thropists, which  the  interesting  subject  of  Pauperism  has 
recently  called  into  action  ;  the  balance  of  good  and  evil 
is  unfavourable  to  the  existence  of  societies  for  gratuitous 
relief: — that  effertsof  this  nature,  with  whatever  zeal  they 
may  be  conducted,  never  can  effect  the  removal  of  pover- 
ty, nor  lessen  its  general  amount ;  but  that  indigence  and 
helplessness  will  multiply  nearly  in  the  ratio  of  those  mea- 
sures which  are  ostensibly  taken  to  prevent  them. 

Such  are  the  consequences  of  every  avowal  on  the  part 
of  the  public  of  a  determination  to  support  the  indigent  by 
the  administration  of  alms.  And  in  no  cases  are  measures 
of  this  kind  more  prolific  in  evil,  than  where  they  are  ac- 
companied by  the  display  of  large  funds  for  the  purposes 
of  charity ;  or  where  the  poor  are  conscious  of  the  exis- 
tence of  such  funds,  raised  by  taxation,  and  of  course,  as 
they  will  allege,  drawn  chiefly  from  the  coffers  of  the  rich. 

How  far  these  evils  are  remediable,  without  an  entire 
dereliction  of  the  great  christian  duty  of  charity,  is  a  prob- 
lem of  difficult  solution.  The  principle  of  taxation  is  so 
interwoven  with  our  habits  and  customs,  it  would,  perhaps, 
in  the  present  state  of  things,  be  impossible  to  dispense 
2 


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■with  it.  But  while  our  poor  cootinue  to  be  thus  supported, 
to  preveut  the  misapplication  and  abuse  of  the  public  char- 
ity, deniands  the  utmost  vigilance,  the  wisest  precaution, 
and  the  most  elaborate  system  of  inspection  and  oversight. 

To  what  extent  abuses  upon  our  present  system  of  alms 
are  practised,  and  how  far  the  evils  which  accompany  it 
are  susceptible  of  remedy,  we  should  not  at  present,  feel 
warranted  in  attempting  to  state.  The  pauperism  of  the  city 
is  under  the  management  of  Five  Commmissioners,  who, 
we  doubt  not,  are  well  qualified  to  fulfil  the  trust  reposed  in 
them,  and  altogether  disposed  to  discharge  it  with  fidelity. 
But  we  cannot  withhold  the  opinion,  that  without  a  far  more 
extended,  minute,  and  energetic  scheme  of  management 
than  it  is  possible  for  any  five  men  to  keep  in  constant  op- 
eration, abuses  will  be  practised,  and  to  a  great  extent,  up- 
on the  public  bounty ;  taxes  must  be  increased,  and  vice 
and  suffering  perpetuated. 

Lastly.  Your  committee  would  mention  war  during 
its  prevalence,  as  one  of  the  most  abundant  sources  of  pov- 
erty and  vice,  which  the  list  of  human  corruptions  compre- 
hends. But  as  this  evil  lies  out  of  the  immediate  reach  of 
local  regulation,  and  as  we  are  now  happily  blest  with  a 
peace  which  we  hope  will  be  durable,  it  is  deemed  unnec- 
essary further  to  notice  it. 

Such  are  the  causes  which  are  considered  as  the  more 
prominent  and  operative  in  producing  that  amount  of  indi- 
gence and  suffering,  which  awakens  the  charity  of  this 
city,  and  which  has  occasioned  the  erection  of  buildings 
for  eleemosynary  purposes,  at  an  expense  of  half  a  million 
of  dollars,  and  which  calls  for  the  annual  distribution  of 
90,000  dollars  more.  But,  if  the  payment  of  this  sum 
were  the  only  inconvenience  lobe  endured — trifling, indeed, 
in  comparison  would  be  the  evils  which  claim  our  attention. 


n 


Of  the  mass  of  affliction  and  wretchedness  actually  sustain- 
ed, how  small  a  portioD  is  thus  relieved  !  Of  the  quantity  of 
misery  and  vice  which  the  causes  we  have  enumerated, 
with  others  we  have  not  named,  bring  upon  the  city,  how 
trifling  the  portion  actually  removed,  by  pubhc  or  by 
private  benevolence  !  Nor  do  we  conceive  it  possible  to 
remove  this  load  of  distress,  by  all  the  alms  doings  of  which 
the  city  is  capable,  while  the  causes  remain  in  full  and 
active  operation. 

Effectually  to  relieve  the  poor,  is  therefore  a  task  far 
more  comprehensive  in  its  nature,  than  simply  to  clothe  the 
naked  and  to  feed  the  hungry.  It  is,  to  erect  barriers  a- 
gainst  the  encroachments  of  moral  degeneracy  ; — It  is  to 
heal  the  diseases  of  the  mind  ; — It  is,  to  furnish  that  ali- 
ment to  the  intellectual  system  which  will  tend  to  preserve 
it  in  healthful  operation. 

But  can  a  task  of  this  nature  come  within  the  reach  of 
any  public  or  any  social  regulation  ?  We  answer,  that  to 
a  certain,  and  to  a  very  valuable  extent,  we  believe  it 
can.  When  any  measure  for  the  promotion  of  public  good, 
or  the  prevention  of  public  evil,  founded  upon  equitable 
principles,  is  supported  by  a  sufficient  weight  of  social  au- 
thority, it  may  gradually  pass  into  full  and  complete  ope- 
ration, ant!  become  established  upon  a  basis  as  firm  as  a 
law  of  legislative  enactment.  And  in  matters  of  private 
practice,  reformation  which  positive  statute  could  never 
accomplish,  social  and  moral  influence  may  thoroughly 
effect. 

The  present  tranquil  state  of  the  public  mind,  and  the 
almost  total  absence  of  political  jealousy,  indicate  a  period 
peculiarly  favourable  to  internal  improvement  and  ref- 
ormation. 

We  therefore  proceed  to  point  out  the  means,  which  we 


12 


consider  best  calculated  to  rneliorate  the  condition  of 
the  poorer  classes,  and  to  strike  at  the  root  of  those  evils 
which  go  to  the  increase  of  poverty  and  its  attendant  mis- 
eries. 

We  hold  it  to  be  a  plain  fundamental  truth,  that  one  of 
of  the  most  powerful  incitements  to  an  honest  and  honourable 
course  of  conduct,  is  a  regard  to  reputation  :  or  a  desire 
of  securing  the  approbation  of  our  friends  and  associates. 
To  encourage  this  sentiment  among  the  poor,  to  inspire  them 
with  the  feelings  of  self  respect,  and  a  regard  to  character, 
will  be  to  introduce  the  very  elements  of  reform.  In  the 
constitution  which  we  shall  offer  for  the  government  of  this 
society,  the  means  will  be  provided  for  effecting,  or 
endeavouring  to  effect,  the  following  regulations,  as  soon 
as  the  society  shall  become  sufficiently  large  and  weighty 
to  proceed  therein.  But  we  wish  expressly  to  state,  that 
in  whatever  measures  the  society  shall  engage,  it  will  be 
proper,  in  our  opinion,  that  the  managers  endeavour  to  ob- 
tain the  sanction  of  the  corporation  of  the  city,  and  in  every 
case  which  requires  it,  the  authority  and  cooperation  of 
that  body. 

1st.  To  divide  the  city  into  very  small  districts,  and  to 
appoint  from  the  members  of  the  society,  two  or  three  visi- 
ters for  each  district,  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  to  visit  fre- 
quently the  families  of  those  who  are  in  indigent  circum- 
stances, to  advise  them  with  respect  to  their  business,  the 
education  of  their  children,  the  economy  of  their  houses,  to 
administer  encouragement  or  admonition,  as  they  may 
find  occasion ;  and  in  general,  by  preserving  an  open,  can- 
did, and  friendly  intercouse  with  them,  to  gain  their  confi- 
dence, and  by  suitable  and  well  timed  counsel,  to  excite 
them  to  such  a  course  of  conduct  as  will  best  promote 
their  physical  and  moral  welfare.    The  visiters  to  keep 


13 


an  Accurate  register  of  the  names  of  all  those  who  re- 
side- within  their  respective  districts,  to  notice  every  change 
of  residence,  whether  of  single  or  married  persons,  and  to 
annex  such  observations  to  the  names  of  those  n  ho  claim 
Iheir  particular  attention  as  will  enable  them  to  give  every 
needful  information  with  respect  to  their  character,  repu- 
ation,  habits,  &c. 

It  may  fairly  be  presumed,  that  if  this  scheme  of  inspec- 
tion can  be  carried  into  full  effect ;  if  visiters  can  be  found, 
who  will  undertake  the  charge,  from  the  pure  motive  of 
philanthropy,  and  if,  on  the  principles  of  active  concert,  a 
reference  be  always  had  to  the  books  of  the  visiters,  be- 
fore charitable  relief  is  extended  to  any  individual,  by  any 
of  the  institutions  already  established,  and  due  notice  ta- 
ken of  the  information  they  afford,  a  change  will  soon 
be  perceived  in  the  aspect  of  the  poor.  Finding  that 
they  have  real  friends,  that  their  conduct  is  an  object  of 
solicitude,  that  their  characters  will  be  the  subject  of  re- 
mark, a  sense  of  decency,  and  a  spirit  of  independence  will 
be  gradually  awakened,  the  efTects  of  which,  must  even- 
tually be  perceived  in  the  diminution  of  the  poor  rates 
•f  the  city. 

2nd.  To  encourage  and  assist  the  labouring  classes  to 
make  the  most  of  their  earnings,  by  promoting  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Savings  Bank,  or  of  Benefit  Societies,  Life 
Insurances,  &c.  The  good  efTects  of  such  associations 
have  been  abundantly  proved  in  Europe  and  in  America. 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore  have  each  a  Savings 
Bank. 

3rd.  To  prevent,  by  all  legal  means,  the  access  of  pau- 
pers who  are  not  entitled  to  a  residence  in  the  city.  The 
plan  of  inspection  before  described  will  furnish  the  means 
of  entirely  preventing  those  disgraceiul  encroachments  up- 


OD  the  charity  of  the  city,  which  it  is  believed  have  beeo 
practised  to  no  inconsiderable  extent, 

4th.  To  unite  with  the  corporate  authorities  in  the  en- 
tire inhibition  of  street  begginp.  There  can  be  no  reason- 
able excuse  whatever,  for  this  practice,  mere  esupi  iaily  if 
the  course  of  inspection,  now  recommended,  be  kept  in  op- 
eration. 

5th.  To  aid,  if  it  sliall  be  deemed  expedient,  in  furnishing 
employment  to  those  who  cannot  procure  it,  either  by  the 
establishment  of  housrs  of  industry,  or  by  supplying  mate- 
rials for  domestic  labour. 

Although  this  mode  of  relieving  the  necessitous,  may  ap- 
pear to  be  entirely  exempt  from  the  evils  arising  from 
gratuitous  aid,  it  will  undoubtedly  require  a  judicious 
course  of  management,  lest  it  produce  a  relaxation  of  con- 
cern on  the  part  of  the  poor  to  depend  on  their  own  fore- 
sight and  industry,  and  the  same  consequent  increase  of 
helplessness  and  poverty.  Yet  it  must  be  expected,  that  nu- 
merous cases  will  occur  in  which  employment  will  furnish 
by  far  the  most  eligible  kind  of  relief.  Among  the  female 
poor,  these  cases  will  be  the  most  numerous.  Women  have 
fewer  resources  than  men ;  they  are  less  able  to  seek  for 
employment ;  they  are  more  exposed  to  a  sudden  reverse 
of  circumstances.  Of  the  wants  and  the  sufferings  of  this 
class,  their  own  sex  are  the  best  judges.  Hence,  we  are  of 
opinion,  that  the  "  society  for  the  promotion  of  industry" 
deserve  the  thanks  of  the  community,  and  that  the  disinter- 
ested and  well  directed  efforts  of  that  society,  ought  to  re- 
ceive an  adequate  and  extended  support. 

6th.  To  advise  and  promote  the  opening  of  places  of  wor- 
ship in  the  outer  wards  of  the  city,  especially  in  situations 
where  licentiousness  is  the  most  prevalent.  This  subject  is 
considered  as  one  of  vital  importance.   If,  as  we  believe, 


nine  tenths  tit  the  poverty  and  wretchedness  which  the  city 
exhibits,  proceeds  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  want  of 
correct  moral  principle,  and  if  religion  is  the  basis  oi  mor- 
ality, then  will  it  be  admitted,  that  to  extend  the  benefits  of 
religious  instruction,  will  be  to  strike  at  the  root  of  that 
corrupt  tree  which  sheds  dreariness  and  penury  from  all 
its  branches.  That  there  is  a  lamentable  deficiency  of  re- 
ligous  observance,  is  extremely  obvious.  It  is  questiona- 
ble, whether  one  man  or  woman  in  fifty,  of  the  indigent, 
enters  a  place  of  worship  three  times  in  a  year.  The 
means  are  not  provided  for  them,  and  they  are  unable  to 
provide  them  for  themselves.  Now  its  has  been  remarked, 
that  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  church,  it  is  rare  to 
find  a  house  devoted  to  lewdness  or  depravity.  One  half 
of  the  sum  annually  expended  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
poor,  would  be  sufficient  to  build  three  houses  for  public 
worship. 

Further,  if  wretchedness  proceed  fiofti  vice,  and  vice, 
among  the  poor,  be  general  ly  the  offspring  of  moral  and 
intellectual  darkneus,  is  it  not  a  most  reasonable,  social 
duty,  which  the  enlightened  portions  of  society  owe  to  the 
ignorant,  to  instruct  before  they  condemn,  to  teach  before 
they  punish  ?  Can  there  be  a  more  painful  reflection  in 
the  mind  of  a  humane  juror,  than  the  thought  of  consigning 
to  death,  or  to  perpetual  exclusion  from  the  enjoyments  of 
virtuous  society,  a  fellow-creature,  for  crimes  that  have 
evidently  resulted  from  that  condition  of  vicious  ignorance, 
to  which  he  has  ever  been  exposed,  without  any  attempts 
on  the  part  cf  the  community  to  rescue  him  from  it  ? 

The  committee  would,  therefore,  submit  to  the  society, 
the  proposition  of  endeavouring  to  effect,  as  the  means  may 
accrue,  the  gradual  erection  of  buildings  for  public  wor- 
ship, in  those  parts  of  the  city  where  they  are  the  most 


16 


needed,  until  every  citizen  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
attending  divine  worship. 

7th.  To  promote  the  advancement  of  First  day,  or  Sun-; 
day  School  Instruction,  both  of  children  and  adults.  We 
cannot  but  regard  this  kiod  of  instruction  as  one  of  the  most 
powerful  engines  of  social  reform,  that  the  wisdom  and  be- 
nevolence of  men  have  ever  brought  into  operation. 

8th.  To  contrive  a  plan,  if  possible,  by  which  all  the 
spontaneous  charities  of  the  town  may  flow  into  one  chan- 
nel, and  be  distributed  in  conformity  to  a  well  regulated 
system,  by  which  deception  may  be  prevented,  and  other 
indirect  evils  arising  from  numerous  independent  associa- 
tions, be  fairly  obviated. 

It  appears  highly  probable,  that  if  the  administration  of 
the  charities  of  the  city  were  so  conducted,  as  to  obviate 
all  danger  of  misapplication  and  deception;  those  chari- 
ties would  flow  with  greater  freedom,  and  that  funds  might 
occasionally  be  obtained,  which  would  afford  the  means  of 
erecting  houses  for  worship,  opening  schools,  and  employ- 
ing teachers,  and  thus  direct,  with  greater  efficacy,  those 
materials  which  alone  can  ensure  to  the  great  fabric  of  so- 
ciety, its  fairest  proportions,  and  its  longest  duration. 

9th.  To  obtain  the  abolition  of  the  greater  number  of 
shops,  in  which  spirituous  liquors  are  sold  by  license. 

We  trust  that  four  fifths,  if  not  the  whole  of  the  intelli- 
gent portion  of  our  fellow-citizens  will  unite  in  opinion, 
that  the  present  extension  of  licensed  retailers  is  equiva- 
lent, or  very  nearly  so,  as  it  respects  the  morals  of  the  ci- 
ty, to  the  entire  abrogation  of  the  law  which  requires  a 
dealer  in  liquors  to  take  out  a  license.  While  the  number 
of  places  in  the  city  remains  so  excessively  great,  which 
afford  to  the  poor  and  ignorant,  not  only  so  many  facilities, 
but  so  many  invitations  and  temptations  to  spend  their  mo- 


17 


aey  "  over  the  maddeDing  bowl,"  reformation  will  be  great- 
ly impeded  ;  poverty  and  ruin  must  increase  and  abound. 

If  each  of  the  1600  retailers  in  the  city,  sell,  upon  an 
average,  to  the  amount  of  250  cents  per  day,  an  estimate 
which  we  presume  all  will  consider  within  the  truth,  the 
aggregate  amount  for  the  year,  is  $1,460,000.  This  enor- 
mous sum,  extorted  from  the  sweats  of  labour,  and  the  tears 
and  groans  ol  suffering  wives  and  children,  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  build  annually,  50  houses  of  worship  at  $20,000 
each,  and  leave  a  surplus  that  would  be  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  erect  school  houses,  and  amply  provide  for  the 
education  of  every  child  in  the  city.  When,  with  a  single 
glance  of  the  mind,  we  contrast  the  difference  in  moral  ef- 
fect, between  the  appropriation  of  this  sum  to  the  support 
of  the  buyers  and  sellers  of  strong  drink,  and  its  appropri- 
ation to  the  support  of  honest  and  industrious  mechanics, 
employed  in  the  erection  of  buildings,  which  would 
improve  and  ornament  the  city,  and  to  the  diffusion 
of  religion  and  useful  learning,  who  will  not  rise  and  ex- 
ert his  strength  against  the  encroachment  of  so  mighty  an 
tvil? 

Various  other  subjects  and  modes  of  relief,  tending  to 
the  same  great  object,  might  be  enumerated,  but  we  forbear 
any  further  to  enlarge  our  report,  by  the  recital  of  them. 

In  the  Constitution  which  we  herewith  submit  for  the 
organization  and  government  of  the  society,  a  door  is  open- 
ed for  the  adoption  of  any  measure  which  the  society  may 
deem  it  expedient  to  pursue,  in  conformity  to  the  principal 
design  of  its  institution. 

To  conclude,  the  conmiittee  has  by  no  means  intended, 
in  the  freedom  with  which  it  has  thus  examined  the  causes 
of  pauperism,  and  suggested  remedies,  to  encourage  the  ex- 
pectation that  the  whole  of  these  remedies  can  be  speedily 
3 


18 


brought  nithiD  the  power  and  control  of  the  society.  A 
work  of  so  much  importance  to  the  public  welfare  cannot 
be  the  business  of  a  day :  but  we  nevertheless  entertain 
the  hope,  that  if  the  principles  and  design  of  this  society 
shall,  upon  mature  examination  and  reflection,  receive  the 
approbation  of  the  great  body  of  our  intelligent  fellow-cit- 
izens, and  the  number  of  its  members  be  augmented  ac- 
cordingly, it  will  be  able  gradually  to  bring  within  its 
operation,  all  the  important  measures  suggested  in  this  re- 
port. By  what  particular  mode  these  measures  shall  be 
encountered,  whether  through  the  agency  of  large  and  ef- 
ficient committees  of  this  society,  or  by  auxiliary  socie- 
ties, each  established,  for  a  specific  purpose,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  parent  institution,  and  subordinate  to  its 
general  principles,  we  leave  to  the  wisdom  and  future  der 
cision  of  the  society. 

On  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

JOHN  GRISCOM,  Chairman. 

New-Tork,  Second-month  Ath,  1818. 


Proposed  Constitution. 


ARTICLE  I. 

THIS  society  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  "  The 
New- York  Society  for  the  prevention  of  Pauperism." 

ARTICLE  IL 

Its  objects  shall  be,  to  investigate  the  circumstances  and 
habits  of  the  poor ;  to  devise  means  for  improving  their 
situation,  both  in  a  physical  and  moral  point  of  view  ;  to 
suggest  plans  for  calling  into  exercise  their  own  endeavours, 
and  afford  the  means  for  giving  them  increased  effect ;  to 
hold  out  inducements  to  economy  and  saving  from  the  fruits 
of  their  own  industry,  in  the  seasons  of  g;reater  abun- 
dance ;  to  discountenance,  and  as  far  as  possible,  prevent 
mendicity  and  street  begging ;  and  in  fine,  to  do  every 
thing  which  may  tend  to  meliorate  their  condition,  by 
stimulating  their  industry,  and  exciting  their  own  energies. 

ARTICLE  III, 

Any  person  signicg  this  constitution,  paying  one  dollar 
at  the  time  of  signing,  and  one  dollar  annually,  shall  become 
a  member  of  this  society, 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  business  shall  be  conducted  by  a  Board  of  Mana- 
gers, consisting  of  thirty  members,  to  be  chosen  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  society,  to  be  held  on  the  last  Tuesday 
in  October,  in  each  year,  and  nine  of  whom  shall  consti- 
tute a  quorum. 


20 


'k  t  ,    ,    ARWCtE  V, 


Its  ofilc«[fpE  slialtte  a  'President,  two  Vice-Piejiidents,  a 
^reasuieij^aDd  Secretary,' to  be  appointed  by  the  board  of 
itianager|f^ 

^.  '  ARTICLE  VI.  '  / 

•The  corporation  of  this  city  shall  be  entitled  to  appoint 
any  five  members  of  their  body,  who,  when  so  appointed, 
shall,  ex  officio,  be  members  of  this  board  of  managers. 

>  ARTICLE  VIL  ,  '  ; 

This  constitution  shall  not  be  altered,  except  at  an  annu: 
al  meeting  of  the  society,  and  by  two  thirds  of  the  mera-'. 
bers  present. 


4' 


a  Tale  of  the  .Neutral  Ground. 


The  robber  raised  it  from  the  floor  with  a  hellish  laugh,  as  he 
said  coolly — 

"  Ay,  but  it  shall  be  to  your  father  in  heaven." 

"  Monster !"  exclaimed  Birch,  "  have  you  no  feeling,  no  faith, 
no  honesty  ?" 

"  Why,  to  hear  him,  one  would  think  there  was  not"  a  rope 
around  his  neck  already,"  said  the  other  malignantly.  TJ^ere  is 
no  necessity  of  your  being  uneasy,  Mr.  Birch  ;  if  the  old  man  gets 
a  few  hours  the  start  of  you  in  the  journey,  you  will  be  sure  to 
follow  him  before  noon  to-morro\v^." 

This  unfeeling  communicatioft  had  no  effect  pn  the  pedlan,  who 
listed  with  gasping  breath  to  every  sound  from  the  room  of  his 
parent,  until  he  heard  his  own  name  spoken  in  the  hollow,  se- 
pulchral tones  of  death.  Birch  could  endure  n^mof  e,  but  shriek- 
ing out^ —        *  «  « 

"  Father,  hush,  father,  I'come — I  come-:"  -he  darted  by  his 
keeper,  and  was  the  next  moment  pinned  to  the  Avail  bj  the  bayo- 
net of  another ;  fortunately  his  quick  motion  had  caused  him  to 
escape  a  thrust  aimed  at  his  life,  and  it  was  by  his  clothes  only 
that  he  was  confined.  v 

"  No,  Mr.  Birch,"  said  the  skinner,  "  we  know  you  too  well 
for  a  slippery  rascal  to  trust  you  out  of  sight— your  gold — your 
gold." 

"  You  have  it,"  said  the  pedlar,  writhing  with  the  agony  of 
his  situation. 

"  Ay,  we  have  the  pursg ;  but  -you  have  more  p%rses.  King 
George  is  a  prompt  paymaster,  Jhd  you  have  done  him  many  a 
piece  of  good  service.  Where  is  your  hoard  ?  without  it  you  will 
never  see  your  father." 

"  Remove  the  stone  underneatlu^he  woman,"  cried  the  pedlar 
eagerly — "  remove  the  ston^." 

"  He  raves — he  raves,"  '^aid  Katy,  instinctively  moving  her 
position  to  another  stone  than  theWne  on  which  she  had  been 
standing ;  in  a  moment  it  was  torn  froni  its  bed,  and  nothing  but 
earth  was  seen  under  it.  , 

"  He  raves ;  you  have  dHven  him  from^his  right  mind,"  con- 
tinued the  trembling  spinster;  "would  any  man  in  his  senses 
think  of  keeping  gold  u^er  a  hearth-stone  ?" 

"  Peace,  babbling  fool,"  cried  Harvey — "  lift  the  corner  stone, 
^and  you  will  find  what  will  piake  you  rich,  and  me  a  beggar," 

"  And  then  you  will  be  despiseable,"  said  the  housekeeper  bit- 
•terly.  "  A  pedlar  without  goods  and  without  money— is  sure  ^ 
be  despiseable."^ 

"  There  will  be  enough  left  to  pay  for  his  halter,"  cried  the 
skinner,  as  he  opened  upon  a  store  of  English  guineas.  These 
were  quickly  transferred  to  a  bag,  notwithstanding  the  declara- 
tions of  the  spinster,  that  her  dues  were  unsatisfied,  and  that  of 
right,  ten  of  the  guineas  should  be  her  property. 


100  The.  aiiy. 

Delighted  with  a  prize  that  greatly  exceeded  their  expecta-  | 
lions,  the  band  prepared  to  depart,  intending  to  take  the  pedlar  \ 
with  them  in  order  to  give  him  up  to  some  of  the  American  jr 
troops  above,  and  claim  the  reward  offered  for  his  apprehension.  \ 
\         Evei^  thing  was  ready,  and  they  were  about  to  lift  Birch  in  their  \ 
\  ariiyj'as  he  refused  to  move  an  inch ;  when  a  figure  cnTered  the  i 
^      ro(5m^lat  appaVled  the  group — around  his  body  was  thrown  the 
sheet  jsf  the  bed  "from  which  he  had  risen,  and  his  fixed  eye  and 
haggarfl  face  gaf  e.him,the  appp^ance  of  a  being  from  another 

tworld.\.  EveniKaty  and  Caesar^Miought  it  was  the  spmt  of  the 
'  elder'Birch,  aldijjft^both  fled  me  house,  followed  by  me  alarm- 
ed skinAers.  i     "       '  ^ 
jj     The  excitemeivjp  which  had  given  Jhe  sick  man  strength  soon 
jt  vanishecL  and  t]ApcdIar,  lifting  kim  in  his  arms,  re-conveyed 
^  ^lim  to  ms  5ed.  re-action  ef  tl^  system  which  followed  has- 

tened to  jiJosA^nKTs't^ne. 
t      9  .The  gl^e^ eya  of  the  father  was  .fixed  upon  the  son ;  his  lips 
\      Vmoved,  but  His  y5ice  was  unheard.    Harvey  bent  down,  and,  with 
\      'his  partin'g  breafth,  re£»iyed  the  dying  benediction  of  his  parent. 
\       ifl  life  of  privat^'^n,^plft4;e,  aiid  of  wrongs,  embittered  most  of 
the  futurs'^ours.  of' the  pedlar.    But  under  no  sufllerings— in  no 
AisfortuneHF-flj^^subject  of  poverty  and  biting  obloquy— the  re- 
membrancelof  that  bleBsing  nevejijeft  him.    It  constantly  gleam- 
ed over  th^TOiages  of  the  past,^shlquding  a  holy  radiance  around 
his  saddesthQurs  of  d?spondc3icy.   '^t  cheered  the  prospect  of 
the  future thef prayers  olJi^ious  spmt  for  his  well-being; 
and  it  brought  Assuraii^e^h're  soul  o^  having  discharged  faith- 
fully and  truly  the  sacred  offlfc^yof  filial'  \ov^. 

The  language  and  manncrsJff.the  ^merican  officers  have  been 
censured  as  coarse  and  vulga^  W,4ho^t  undertaking  to  decide 
whether  they  do  not  talk  a.s'\^ii\gffAtle\nen  in  a  camp — or  "free 
and  easy"  when  at  a  jo^^  bOTO-d,  ard  acciistoijjed  to  converse,  we 
can  at  least  observe,  they  never  disgii^'us  with  profanity.  As  we 
wish  to  bestow  otf ttis  accomplished  winter  all.the.praise  that  is  due 
y  to  him — both  for  the»^edit  of  our  own  literature,  and  in  return 
for  the  pleasure  we  hajse  received,  we  •w^l  mention  one  more  very 
rare  qifality  of  his  boolv — we  mean  its  to*tai  freedom  from  indeli- 
cacy in  word  and  thought.  We  d'o  not  racollect  that  a  single 
j^ge  is  garnished  by  this  unpardonable  st^i.  If  wp  were  to  ex- 
amine severely,  we  might  point  out  some  pas(^ag^,  not  altogether 
to  our  n^nd.  But  its  faults  are  very  trivial.  As  to  the  style— 
■we  really  devoured  the  whole  work  with  such  avidity,  that  we 
had-jio  time  to  be  fastidious  on  that  score.  It  may  be  charac- 
terized generally  as  deficient  in  richness  and  classical  purity.  It 


■ 


/'  l-'risnn  Diacijilitif.  101 

does  not  posses^  Hjat  exuberant  and  precipitous  How  which  dis- 
tinguishes work's  of  original  genius.  But  if  it  breathe  not  the 
warm  current  of  inspiration,  if  the  eye  be  not  dazzled  by  the  pro- 
fusion and  splepi^our  which  we  behold  in  some  of  the  pages  of  the 
mighty  masters  of  song,  we  should  not  be  the  less  grateful  to 
that  vigorouslg;o'nception  which  has  sketched  so  animated  a  pic- 
ture of  scenes  which  "  conle  hcwie  to  the  business  and  bosom"  of 
every  Amerijian.         ,      '  .  ♦ 

We  understand 'that^the  author  has  already  projected  another 
.  work.  Let  it  not  come  too  soon,  but  when  it  does,  we  hope  his 
countrymen  will  corftin^Je  to  pui«/hase  and  to  praise.  '  WJjth  this 
wish,  which  we  believe,  embraces  all  that  the  author  cjin  reasona- 
,  ^bjly  desire,  >ve  dismiss  him,  with  our  warmest  thanks  foP  the  ^ry 
tiigh  gratification  which  we  have  derived  from  his  pag^s. 

V  '  


FOR  THE  PORT  FOLIO. 


^      ■'  Art.^II^— On  the  Penitentiary  System  of  Pennsy^lvania.  , 
t.  ;' 
Mr.  Oldschool —  n 

/^he  North' American  Review,  for  October,  1 821, 'contains  an  -J^ 
article  on  the^enitentiary  system,  upon  which  it  is  my  intention  ^ 
to  make  some  remarks. 
•  '^  The  improvements  which  the  writer  suggests,  are  to  confine  ju- 
venile offenders,  and  all  convicts  for  the  first  time.,  and  for  the  /■ 
lighter  kind  of  offences,  in  one  establishment  to  ^e  called  the  U 
Penitentiary  ;  and  the  more  hardened  convicts,  or  those  convict-    .«  A 
ed  of  "  heavy"  crimes  and  second  offences  in  another,  to  be  ca4ied  • 
the  State  Prison.    In  both,  the  convicts  are  to  be  kept  at«*vork, 
ffand  in  society,  except  in  particular  cases.  "  Such  isjthe  on!^  plan 
.  of  punishments  which  he  believes  can  be  permanenily  adopted  in  ^  .^^ 
-tliis  country,  and  to  prove  this  position  negatively,  he  briefly  ex-  4 
amines  some  of  the  other  schemes  that  have  beep  suggested. ".^    ^  .. 
j^'h^se  are  transportation ;  labour  in  chains  on  thejiighway/j  the/,  '? 
.  re'storation  of  the  "  good  old  system  of  flogging,  branding,  p'Ulor- 
ing,  gibbeting,  &c.  8cc. ;  and  exclusive  solitary  coj^finemjent."    I  ••• 
£hall  notice  these  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand ;  firsj^bserv- 
ing,  however,  that  there  does  not  appear  to  be  the  Jeast  necessity*  t 
£0^  having  two  separate  establishments.    Wl*y  n^ght«of^fHhe  ^ 
convicts  be  confined  in  one  prison  ?    One  great  recommenda^o^  ^; 


I'nxon  Uisci/iUne. 


of  a  single  prison,  is  its  great  economy,  when  compared  with  the 
expenses  attending  the  erection  and  support  of  two. 

The  writer  in  the  Review  is  strongly  opposed  to  transportation  ; 
and  his  arguments  are  unanswerable,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  the 
places  which  he  notices  as  having  been  pointed  out  as  proper  de- 
fiots.  These  are  Columbia  river,  and  an  island  in  Lake  Superior. 
Both  are  highly  objectionable  for  the  I'^asons  which  he  gives,  viz. 
great  expense,  and  danger  of  escaping.  The  first  objection,alone, 
ought  to  prevent  us  from  thinking  of  either  place,  and  the  conse- 
quence of  escape  would  be  the  return  of  the  convicts  "  to  their 
old  haunts,"  as  stated  by  the  reviewer,  or,  which  is  as  bad,  the 
exposure  to  their  depredations  of  the  people  on  the  frontiers,  who 
are  struggling  with  hardships  and  privations  unavoidably  inci- 
dent to  their  situation.  Besides,  the  convict  establishment  at 
Columbia  river  would  interfere  with,  if  not  entirely  prevent,  the^" 
success  of  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  Columbia  ^-iver,  which 
it  is  highly  probable  the  American  government  will  make  be- 
fore long;  or  it  might  injure  the  useful  enterprise  of  Mr.  Astor, 
which  it  is  our  duty  and  interest  to  encourage.  I  put  the  pla- 
ces mentioned,  therefore,  wholly  out  of  the  question. 

Now  let  us  examine  the  force  of  the  arguments  against  the 
general  policy  of  the  nieasure  of  transportation. 

Criminals,  it  is  said,  are  "  a  miserable  kind  of  material  for 
new  settlements.  It  is  inexcusable  in  any  nation  to  resort  to  it, 
imtil  the  accumulation  of  distress,  and  petty  offences  in  conse- 
quence, have  increased  to  an  inconvenient  and  alarming  de- 
gree." The  idea  of  "  new  settlements,"  implies  that  we  are  to 
hold  future  intercourse  with  the  convicts,  but  this  is  far  from  en- 
tering into  my  views.  After  having  placed  them  in  a  secure 
spot,  from  which  their  escape  would  be  impossible,  and  after 
furnishing  them  with  the  means  of  temporary  sustenance,  and  of 
future  existence  and  even  comfort  by  the  aid  of  their  own  labour, 
they  ought  to  be  left  to  themselves,  and  all  intercourse  wijth  them 
provided  against  under  the  severest  penalty.  The  Botany  Bay 
plan  must  be  studiously  avoided.  An  argument  in  favour  of  ef- 
fectually relieving  ourselves  from  certain  convicts  by  the  pr6- 
posed  measure  is  derived  from  the  actual  existence  of  the  state 
of  things  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Reviewer,  could  alone  jus- 
tify it,  viz.  "  the  accumulation  of  petty  offences,"  and  I  will 


Prison  Disci/dine. 


103 


add,  of  heinous  crimes,  to  "  an  inconvenient  and  alarming  de- 
gree ;"  for  do  we  not  daily  see  accounts  of  them  in  every  part  of 
the  union,  and  do  not  the  criminal  courts  of  our  capitals  ex- 
hibit abundant  proofs  of  them,  from  the  gentleman-robbers  of 
banks,  (who  commonly  contrive  to  escape  punishment,)  parricides, 
and  every  species  of  daring  crime,  down  to  the  sly  pilfering  of  a 
fruitstall  ?  But  "  transportation"  is  said  to  be  of  all  "  modes 
of  punishment,  the  most  costly,  and  of  little  importance  in  deter- 
ing  the  unprincipled  from  crime,  as  they  do  not  see  the  punish- 
ment." Now  the  fact  is,  that  transportation,  of  all  modes,  may 
be  made  the  cheapest  that  can  be  adopted  :  the  cost  of  removal 
amounting  to  little  more  than  the  annual  expense  of  a  convict  in 
some  of  the  states  :  the  first  expense  moreover  will  be  the  last. 
It  is  certainly  a  singular  argument,  at  this  day,  against  the  salu- 
tary influence  of  transportation  upon  the  wicked, "  that  they  do 
not  see  the  punishment,"  because  it  was  taken  for  granted  that 
the  principle  was  fully  established  by  the  experience  derived  from 
European  penal  codes,  that  "  public  examples,"  as  they  are  call-, 
ed,  so  far  from  deterring  from  the  commission  of  crimes,  in- 
crease their  number,  and  that  their  enormity  is  proportioned  to 
the  severity  and  publicity  of  the  punishment.  The  use  of  the 
argument  last  quoted,  is  the  more  extraordinary,  considering 
that  the  inefficiency  of  the  barbarous  corporeal  inflictions  of  the 
old  American,  and  present  European  penal  codes*  is  ably  and 
fully  pourtrayed  by  the  Avriter  himself:  and  any  one  who  believes 
in  the  restraining  influence  of  example,  may  be  satisfied  of  the 
delusion  under  which  he  labours,  by  resorting  to  the  next  public 
execution  with  one  end  of  his  handkerchief  a  little  out  of  his 
pocket.  So  fully  am  I  convinced  of  the  ineflicacy  of  public  pun- 
ishments, in  preventing  crimes,  that  it  is  firmly  believed,  the  exe- 
cution of  a  convict,  at  midnight  in  the  jail  yard  in  the  presence  of 
his  fellow  convicts,  and  by  torch  light  would  have  a  much 

*  I  might  add,  the  shocking  proposals  recently  made  in  the  publication  of 
Mr.  Beaumonfj'a  London  magistrate,  of  "  branding  on  each  cheek,  and  on  the 
forehead ;  amputation  of  oflending  members ;  and  death  with  previous  ampu- 
tation of  the  hands."  If  the  progress  of  mental  light  had  not  caused  the 
abolition  of  the  Inquisition  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  Mr.  B.  woiUdhave  merited 
a  high  station  in  that  mild  and  humane  estbalishment  for  the  reformation  of 
heretics, — against  the  church  "as  by  lavi  established." — See  the  Pamphleteer, 
vol.  xviii.  p.  416. 


104 


Prison  Discifilinc. 


greater  effect  upon  them,  and  the  public  at  large,  than  the  most 
solemn  and  ostentatious  parade.  But  as  it  is  possible  that  there 
are  some  persons  who  from  not  .having  duly  considered  the  sub- 
ject, are  still  persuaded  of  the  admonitory  and  moral  effects  of 
public  punishments  on  society,  I  beg  leave  to  recommend  to  them 
the  perusal  of  the  unanswerable  observations  on  it,  by  our  late 
eminent  citizen  and  philanthropist  Dr.  Rush,  which  laid  the 
foundation  for  their  total  abolition  in  Pennsylvania.*  He  has 
proved  that  public  punishments  make  men  worse ;  that  they  never 
reform  ;  never  terrify,  and  so  far  from  preventing  crimes,  tend  to 
increase  them,  by  destroying  the  sense  of  shame ;  by  exciting  re- 
venge against  the  community,  and  from  a  strange  propensity 
among  fanatics  and  the  miserable,  even  to  commit  capital  crimes, 
that  they  may  imitate  an  heroic  death,  and  draw  forth  a  repetition 
of  expressions  of  admiration  and  praise  for  fortitude  and  suffer- 
ing, which  they  may  have  heard  uttered  by  spectators  of  a  public 
execution. 

Instead  of  "  it  costing  twenty  times  as  much  to  punish  our  con- 
victs by  transportation,  as  it  does  no^  in  the  state  prisons,"  the 
cost  would  very  probably  be  twenty  times  less ;  for  as  20  years 
might  be  safely  taken  as  the  average  term  of  the  life  of  a  convict 
in  his  new  habitation,  their  outfit  during  that  period,  would  not 
average  more  than  the  annual  cost  at  present.  Nay,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted,  that  the  general  average  would  be  less;  for  al- 
though the  expense  of  the  first  cargo  might  cause  the  amount  to 
be  a  little  more,  owing  to  the  purchase  of  many  necessary  articles 
of  a  permanent  nature,  yet  as  they  would  not  be  required  again 
until  after  a  long  time,  the  cost  of  the  subsequent  shipments 
would  certainly  be  so  much  less,  as  to  bring  out  the  result  of 
a  given  term  in  favour  of  transportation,  on  the  ground  of  eco- 
nomy. 

2d.  I  have  anticipated  myself  in  some  measure  on  the  subject 
of  public  punishments,  by  a  reference  to  the  essays  of  Dr.  Rush. 
The  plan  of  punishing  convicts  by  labour  on  the  highways  and 

streets  was  fully  tried  in  the  year  1786,  and  I  well  remember  the 

_  ^  _ 

*  See  his  Essays,  literary,  moral  and  philosophical,  Philadelphia,  1798. 
Bradford. — A  work  that  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  family  in  the  United 
States.  See  also  Roscoe  on  Penal  Jiuisprudence,  and  MontagT.ie  "  on  the  pun^ 
ishment  of  murder  by  death." 


Prison  Discipline.  105 

shocking  scenes  then  exhibited,  and  the  universal  disgust  they 
excited  among  all  classes  of  citizens.  The  law  was  intended  to 
continue  only  three  years,  and  during  that  period  petitions  for  its 
repeal,  covered  the  tables  of  the  legislature.  It  was  accordingly 
permitted  to  die,  and  another  was  passed  upon  the  old  principles 
of  labour  and  confinement.* 

3.  The  writer  in  the  Review  is  decidedly  opposed  to  solitary 
confinement,  which  he  says,  "  has  been  recommended  by  some 
without  even  having  considered  its  effects.  In  the  first  place,  if 
this  should  be  adopted,  the  view  of  the  economists  must  be  aban- 
doned, for  the  criminals  can  perform  no  labour."  Now,  so  far 
from  solitary  confinement  having  been  recommended  without 
due  reflection,  the  fact  is,  that  it  was  seriously  brought  before 
the  judiciary  committee  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  during 
the  last  session,t  after  mature  consideration  for  several  months 
on  the  total  inefficiency  of  the  system  hitherto  adopted  in  our 
state  ;  on  the  good  effects  of  short  periods  of  seclusion  expe- 
rienced in  Philadelphia,  in  subduing  outrageous  tempers ;  and  on 
the  equally  well  known  injury  experienced  by  the  convicts,  from 
their  constantly  increasing  contamination,  the  unavailing  influ- 
ence of  labour  upon  their  moral  faculties,  when  performed  in  so- 

•  The  following  relation  may  not  be  without  use.  An  act  for  suostitut- 
ing  labour  and  confinement  for  public  punishments,  had  been  draughted 
during  the  session  in  which  the  "  wheelbarrow"  law  was  passed  ;  when,  on  a 
meeting  of  the  committee  preparator}' to  its  introduction,  it  was  unfortunately 
resolved  upon  the  motion  of  a  member,  who  probably  thought  they  were 
treading  on  sacred  ground,  to  refer  it  to  the  chief  justice,  (the  late  Governor 
M'Kean,)  who  it  was  supposed  must  be  master  of  the  subject,  and  who 
would  set  them  right  if  they  were  wrong :  his  approbation  was  also  deemed 
important  to  insure  the  passage  of  the  bUl.  He  retui-ned  the  bill,  and  pro- 
posed as  a  substitute  the  "  wheelbarrow  law,"  which  met  the  approbation  of  a 
majority  of  the  committee,  from  deference  to  the  autbority  of  so  great  a  legal 
character,  and  was  approved  of  by  the  legislature.  This  information  comes 
from  the  late  Geo.  Clymer,  who  was  a  member  of  the  first  committee,  and 
warmly  opposed  the  reference  to  the  judge.  Thus  for  a  short  time  were  sus- 
pended the  happy  effects  of  Dr.  Rush's  anxious  labours  for  years,  in  prepar- 
ing the  pubUc  mind  for  the  amehoration  of  the  penal  code,  and  in  breaking 
down  the  strong  holds  of  prejudice  and  ignorance  which  supported  the  de- 
testable old  system. 

f  In  « observations  on  the  Penitentiary  System  of  Pennsylvania,  by  Me- 
dicus."  > 

VOL.  I.  14 


106 


Prison  Disci/iline. 


ciety  during  the  day,  and  their  herding  together  at  night.  The 

rationale  or  modus  operandi  of  this  grand  assuager  of  the  turbu- 
lent passions  was  illustrated,  and  the  Penitentiary  committee  in 
their  report  preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  the  late  bill  pro- 
viding for  the  erection  of  a  new  prison,  with  solitary  cells,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  in  the  counties,  went  still  farther  into  the  sub- 
ject, and  shewed  the  happy  effects  that  were  likely  to  result  from 
the  adoption  of  the  measure.  In  the  remarks  already  referred 
to,  it  was  asserted  that  "  labour  in  society  was  an  enjoyment," 
and  tended  to  defeat  the  object  of  confinement,  while  on  the  con- 
trary, idleness  in  solitude  was  highly  distressing.  Of  the  truth 
of  these  positions,  the  experience  of  the  Philadelphia  inspectors 
is  ample,*  and  other  authorities  may  be  quoted  to  support  them. 
Mr.  Buxton  says,  that  in  the  Maison  de  Force  at  Ghent,  priva- 
tion of  work  is  a  penalty  sufficient  to  keep  99  out  of  100  orderly 
and  attentive  to  the  rules. t  Mr.  Cunningham  the  keeper  of  the 
Gloucester  jail,  says  that  criminals  "  dread  solitude  ;  that  it  is  the 
most  beneficial  meaus  of  working  reform ;  far  better  than  corpo- 
real punishment,  which  when  severe,  hardens  them  more  than 
any  thing  else."  He  adds,  "  Reflection  with  low  diet,  are  the 
causes  of  the  good  effect  of  solitary  confinement."  Mr.  Stokes, 
governor  of  the  house  of  correction  at  Horsley,  says,  that  "  soli- 
tary confinement  is  a  much  greater  punishment  without  work 
than  with  it.  To  the  question,  '  Do  you  think  a  convict  would 
go  out  better,  if  he  had  been  employed  during  the  month  of  con- 
finement you  speak  of?'  the  reply  is,  no,  nor  half.  The  prisoner 
who  is  employed,  passes  his  time  smooth  and  comfortable,  and 
he  has  a  portion  of  his  earnings ;  but  if  he  has  no  labour,  and  kept 
under  the  discipline  of  the  prison,  it  is  a  tight  piece  of  punish- 
ment to  go  through.  My  opinion  is,  that  if  they  are  kept  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  prison,  and  have  no  labour,  that  one  month 
would  do  more  than  six,  [without  labour.]  I  am  certain,  that  a 
man  who  is  kept  there  without  labour  once,  will  not  be  very 

*  The  convicts  in  the  Pliiladelphia  prison,  have,  upon  several  occasions,  ex- 
•  •  (sc'Uheir  ib  tiid  ot  the  intended  plan  of  solitary  confinement  in  the  prison 
.:  ;  inled  to  be  built  Ihisycar. 

f  Inquiry  whether  crime  and  misery  are  produced  or  prevented  by  our 
present  system  of  prison  discipline.  By  Th.  F.  Buxton,  M.  P.  London,  1818, 
p.  71.^ 


Prison  Ducifiline. 


107 


i-eady  to  come  there  again."*  A  convict  now  in  the  Philadel- 
phia prison,  was  recently  asked,  "  Did  you  stay  in  Rhode  Island, 
after  your  release  from  the  solitory  cells,  there  ?"  "  Oh,  no,  I 
gave  them  wide  sea-room."  He  renewed  his  depredations,  but 
it  was  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  cells  are  reserved  for  punishing 
atrocious  and  turbulent  convicts.  For  such  characters,  darkness 
and  bread  and  water  for  diet,  ought  to  be  joined  to  solitude. 
The  probable  increased  efficacy  of  total  abstraction  of  light,  must 
be  obvious  to  all,  and  as  to  its  absolute  effect,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  having  been  repeatedly  proven.  The  governor  of  the  jail 
at  Devises,  says  that  "  he  had  only  one  occasion  to  use  the  dark 
cell,  in  the  case  of  the  same  prisoner,  twice :  that  less  than  one 
day  is  enough  to  bring  him  to  his  senses."  He  considered  pun- 
ishment in  a  dark  cell  for  one  day,  had  a  greater  effect  upon  a 
prisoner,  than  to  keep  him  on  bread  and  water  for  a  month. "t 

A  greater  portion  of  the  time  of  the  convicts  ought  to  be  spent 
in  the  solitary  cells  than  usual,  in  order  that  they  might  be  made 
to  suffer;  and  if  solitary  idleness  be  not  thought  expedient, 
they  ought  to  be  compelled  to  earn  at  least  gS  dollars  per  year, 
above  the  amount  of  their  expenses,^  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 
an  excuse  which  has  often  been  made,  for  robbing,  to  support 
life,  until  they  can  obtain  the  means  of  emplojTnent  after  their 
liberation.  Nor  should  they  be  permitted  to  leave  the  prison 
without  this  capital  in  hand.  Convicts,  knowing  that  their  re- 
tum  to  liberty  depended  on  a  compliance  with  this  rule,  would 
redouble  their  industry,  and  would  never  be  idle ;  whereas,  at 
present  not  having  such  a  stimulus  to  work,  they  often  neglect 
their  tasks,  and  are  turned  loose  without  a  dollar,  and  renew 
their  depredations  on  society  to  satisfy  the  calls  of  hunger,  jl 

*  Evicjence  before  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1819  :  p. 
391 — quoted  in  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  70,  p.  295. 

■(■Evidence  before  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  1819.  p.  359. 
Edinbui-gh  Review,  No.  70,  p.  293. 

i  It  has  always  been  the  practice  of  the  inspectors  of  the  Philadelphia  prison, 
to  give  the  convicts  credit  for  their  extra  earnings,  beyond  the  small  amount 
vrith  which  they  are  charged  for  their  maintenance  and  clotliing,  and  some 
have  received  sums  on  their  dischai-ge,  that  might  have  been  of  sen  ice  to  them 
ii^^j^rigup,^alrade,  if  they  had  been  disposed  to  work  ;  but  indolence  pre- 
vR's  many  from  doing  any  thing  more  than  their  daily  tasks,  or  from  accom- 
plishing even  those,  and  hence,  when  leaving  prison,  they  are  pennyless. 


108 


Prison  Discijiline. 


preferable  filan  is  to  keefi  them  in  solitude  without  work,  during 
the  whole  period  of  their  sentences,  and  then  to  present  them  with 
5,  10,  or  15  dollars,  acquainting  them  at  the  tirne,  that  in  the  event 
of  their  being  again  convicted,  they  would  inevitably  be  transport- 
ed for  life  to  Tristan  da  Cunha,  whencetheir  escafie  would  be  hope- 
less. Such  a  plan  would  constitute  perfection  in  criminal  jurispru- 
dence, and  when  adopted,  will  clear  our  jails  of  all  old  convicts, 
and  greatly  diminish  the  number  of  first  offences.  It  does  not  fol- 
low that  "  labour  must  be  abandoned  in  solitary  confinement ;" 
for  the  cells  may  be  constructed  of  dimensions  to  admit  of  it; 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  new  prison  to  be  commenced  the  next 
spring  in  Philadelphia,  will  be  erected  on  that  principle.  Nor 
cannot  it  be  considered  "  an  abandonment  of  the  views  of  the 
economists,"  if  work  were  wholly  restricted,  as  it  is  very  probable 
that  in  the  end,  a  saving  to  the  public  would  ensue,  if  the  con- 
victs were  kept  idle,  for, 

1.  They  would  wear  fewer  clothes  than  when  at  work. 

2.  They  might  do  well  with  two  meals  a  day,  instead  of  three, 
which  are  now  given. 

3.  The  quantity  of  food  at  each  meal  would  be  diminished,  by 
reason  of  the  lessened  appetite  arising  from  want  of  exercise 
in  the  open  air. 

4.  The  horrors  of  confinement  would  be  so  lasting,  that  the 
criminals  once  subjected  to  it  for  a  proper  length  of  time,  (not 
a  few  months)  will  be  effectually  deterred  from  risking  a  repe- 
tition of  them,  by  the  commission  of  crimes  in  a  state  where 
such  punishment  awaits  them.  Besides,  a  continuation  of  the 
plan  of  working  convicts  is  the  less  important  at  present,  and 
probably  for  some  years  to  come  will  not  deserve  considera- 
tion, in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of  making  sale  of  the  pro- 
duct of  their  labour,  and  even  supposing  that  they  remained 
wholly  idle  during  their  confinement,  still  economy  would  en- 
sue, for  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  from  the  cause  just 
mentioned,  the  prison  after  a  few  years  will  contain  but  a  small 
number  of  inhabitants.  ' 

Another  objection  to  solitary  confinement  is  the  fear  of  making 
the  convicts  "  maiiiacs,  if  it  docs  not  destroy  them."  But  this 
is  altogether  imaginary,  being  contrary  to  experietice  Nh'sSAli 
cases.    The  records  of  the  bastile  of  France  and  of  other  prisons 


Prison  Discipline. 


109 


in  Europe,  shew,  that  men  have  been  confined  for  10,  20,  and 
even  more  than  30  years  in  solitary  cells  without  loss  of  reason 
or  life.  Most  of  us  have  read  the  interesting  story  of  the  con- 
finement of  Henry  Masers  de  la  Tude,  who,  with  but  little  inter- 
ruption was  immured  in  the  bastile  from  1749  to  1784:*  and 
what  American  youth  has  not  been  roused  to  indignation  at  the 
sufferings  of  the^igh  minded  but  imprudent  Trenck,  who  for  ten 
years  groaned  in  the  dungeon  of  Magdeburg,  by  order  of  the 
Prussian  tyrant,  whom  it  is  the  fashion  to  call,  the  great  Freder- 
ick ?  Our  enterprising  felloAv  citizen  W.  D.  Robinson  was  con- 
fined in  the  year  1817  in  a  loathsome  cell,  an  "  infenial  prison," 
under  one  of  the  arches  of  the  ramparts  of  the  castle  of  San 
Juan  de  Ulua,  on  the  Spanish  Main,  for  eleven  months. t  Our 
own  prisons  furnish  additional  proofs  in  point.  By  a  refer- 
ence to  the  keeper  of  the  Philadelphia  prison,  and  to  an  inspector, 
who  has  been  for  1 5  years  almost  successively  in  office,  I  have 
ascertained  that  some  of  the  convicts  have  been  confined  for 
nearly  a  year  in  a  cell.  The  diet  during  part  of  the  time,  (about 
two  weeks)  of  those  confined  for  long  periods,  is  what  is  called 
"  cell  allowance,"  viz.  half  a  pound  of  bread  per  day,  with  water. 
Afterwards  some  soup  is  allowed ;  then  a  little  meat  twice  a  week, 
and  at  a  more  advanced  stage,  three  times  a  week.  It  is  not 
deemed  necessary  to  state  the  particular  cases,  or  to  multiply 
proofs  of  a  fact  which  is  known  to  all  who  have  had  any  inter- 
course with  the  prison,  and  of  which  any  one  may  be  fully  satis- 
fied by  application  to  the  keeper  or  board  of  inspectors.  One 
man  now  in  prison,  states  that  he  was  confined  in  a  cell  of  the 
jail  at  Providence,  of  smaller  dimensions  than  those  of  Philadel- 
phia, during  ten  months  and  twenty  one  days  :  that  during  three 
months  of  the  time  he  was  chained  to  the  floor,  and  that  he  had 
two  meals  in  a  day. 

The  inspectors  and  the  keeper  of  the  Philadelphia  prison,  deny 
positively  that  any  injurious  effect  has  been  observed  upon  the 
intellects  of  those  confined  in  solitary  cells,  even  for  the  longest 
period  mentioned  ;  and  also  deny  the  accuracy  of  the  statement 

•  This  account  is  recorded  in  a  variety  of  foreign  works,  and  also  in  that 
popular  miscellany,  liie  "  Percy  Anecdotes,"  part  6th. 

f  Memoirs  of  the  Mexican  Revolution  by  W .  D.  Robinson  Philadelphia 
1820. 


Prison  Discifiline. 


of  the  writer  in  the  N.  A.  Review,  that  "  a  week  or  ten  days  is 
generally  sufficient  to  subdue  the  obstinate  temper  of  a  con- 
vict;" a  much  longer  time  being  often  required.  One  woman 
required  52  days  confinement  in  an  upper  remote  cell,  and  to  in- 
crease her  punishment,  not  a  word  was  spoken  to  her  during  all 
that  time.  She  had  previously  been  some  time  confined  in  a 
lower  cell,  where  conversation  was  practicable  with  an  adjoining 
convict,  and  was  permitted  with  the  cell  keepers,  but  had  not 
become  penitent.  They  say  further  that  none  are  ever  taken 
out  of  the  cells,  until  completely  subdued,  unless  the  attending 
physician  desire  their  removal  by  reason  of  the  state  of  their 
health;  and  it  is  the  invariable  rule  to  remand  them  to  their  soli- 
tary abode,  whenever  they  are  able  to  bear  it,  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  time  of  their  sentence  to  that  punishment.  The  in- 
spectors well  know  the  constitution  of  the  minds  of  criminals, 
and  that  to  restore  one  of  them  to  the  luxury  of  working  and 
sleeping  in  society  before  their  turbulent  passions  are  overcome, 
would  be  a  victory  over  the  discipline  of  the  prison,  and  produce 
the  most  ruinous  effects  upon  the  system.  Such  a  triumph  is 
therefore  never  permitted. 

The  writer  in  the  Review,  says  he  was  "  assured  by  the  inspec- 
tors of  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  penitentiaries  that  in  each 
of  those  prisons  but  one  instance  had  occurred  of  solitary  con- 
finement failing  to  subdue  the  criminal.  In  each  of  these  cases, 
after  a  confinement  of  a  month,  and  "  when  the  pulse  had  been 
reduced  to  a  cambric  thread,"  the  criminal  was  still  obstinate, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  release  him  to  prevent  his  perishing 
under  it."  The  practice  of  the  Philadelphia  prison  has  been 
stated.  Tlie  particular  case  just  mentioned,  is  not  recollected  by 
the  present  inspectors  who  have  been  consulted ;  but  they  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  a  repetition  of  the  experiment  would 
have  succeeded.  So  far  from  the  mental  faculties  being  impair- 
ed by  solitary  confinement,  it  is  a  fact,  that  even  the  muscular 
powers  often  apparently  suffer  very  little  diminution,  and  even 
in  cases  where  debility  is  perceptible,  after  the  release  cf  a  cri- 
minal, it  is  only  temporary.  Some  have  actually  acquired  flesh 
during  their  confinement ;  one  man  carried  a  keg  of  nails  the 
length  of  the  yard,  immediately  on  coming  out,  after  a  seclusion 
of  upwards  of  a  month.    The  man  confined  in  Providence,  says 


Prison  Diacifilinr, 


111 


he  tottered  when  taken  out,  but  in  one  month  he  was  as  strong 
as  ever.  This  man  was  exposed  to  a  highly  debilitating  cause 
while  in  his  cell,  viz.  an  almost  constant  stench  from  inattention 
on  the  part  of  the  prison  keepers  to  the  removal  of  an  obvious 
cause,  but  once  in  ten  days  I 

Mr.  Robinson  though  debilitated  by  confinements,  low  diet, 
and  an  illness  of  several  weeks  with  a  violent  hoemorrhage,  re- 
covered and  suffered  no  permanent  injury  in  his  health. 

The  writer  resumes  the  subject  in  the  progress  of  his  remarks, 
and  says,  that  "  it  is  a  mistake  of  some  theorists  to  plan  a  prison  so 
that  every  man  shall  be  in  absolute  seclusion.  It  is  only  desirable 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  convicts,  particularly  the  more  atro- 
cious and  hardened  should  be  thus  separated.  But  in  many  cases 
a  superintendant  will  find  it  advantageous  to  put  two  or  three  to- 
gether, where  he  perceives  a  repentant  disposition,  and  that  they 
will  sympathise  and  confirm  each  other  in  such  a  course  ?" 

It  is  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of  solitary  confinment,  that  it 
is  warmly  advocated  by  the  most  experienced  among  the  present 
inspectors  of  Philadelphia,  whose  knowledge  derived  from  long 
familiarity  with  prison  discipline,  and  management  of  convicts, 
is  far  removed  from  "  theory,"  and  is  not  exceeded  by  that  of  any 
men  in  this  country,  or  in  Europe.  There  are  few — very  few  of 
those  committed  to  the  Philadelphia  prison,  who  do  not  deserve 
the  epithets  which  the  writer  affixes  to  those  whose  consignment 
to  the  cells  he  allows  to  be  proper ;  and  as  to  repentence,  although 
"  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished,"  yet  is  so  rare  an  oc- 
currence, as  not  to  enter  into  the  calculation  of  the  inspectors  so 
long  as  more  than  one  are  confined  in  a  cell  at  a  time.  Several 
have  successfully  played  the  hypocrite,  and  one  man  "  fairly 
prayed  himself  out  of  prison,"  sometime  before  the  expiration 
of  the  period  for  which  he  was  sentenced  ;  but  he  returned 
within  the  year.  It  is  evident  that  the  writer  himself"  theorises," 
for  he  speaks  of  "  a  repentant  disposition,"  as  a  possible  occur- 
rence, but  mentions  no  instance  of  this  communion  of  penitent 
souls,  having  been  successfully  allowed  in  support  of  the  practice 
he  recommends.  He  may  be  assured  that  any  useful  "  sympathe- 
tic" or  moral  influence,  or  "confirmation"  in  a  repentent  dispo- 
sition, derived  from  the  company  of  "  two  or  three  in  a  cell,"  is 
wholly  imaginary,  and  will  not  be  experienced.    The  greater 


Prison  Dincijiline. 


probability  is,  that  the  discovery  of  any  symptoms  of  contrition  in 

convict,  by  another  in  the  same  cell,  would  end  in  his  being 
laughed  out  of  it  by  his  companions,  and  in  the  establishment  of 
his  old  habits.  An  equally  probable  consequence  of  such  inter- 
course would  be,  the  planning  of  future  robberies,  or  the  con- 
triving the  means  of  escape  :  of  this,  I  shall  say  more  presently. 
It  must  be  acknowledged,  that  although  19  out  20  now  confined  in 
Philadelphia  have  been  before  in  the  prison  there,  or  in  that  of 
some  other  city,  yet  that  numbers  once  released,  have  not  again 
offended  against  the  laws  ;  but  it  is  possible  that  they  would  have 
behaved  equally  well,  if  they  had  never  been  punished  ;  and  it 
does  not  follow  that  any  serious  reformation  has  taken  place  in 
the  heart  of  a  man,  merely  because  he  has  not  committed  a  lar- 
cency  or  other  crime,  the  penalty  of  which  is  confinement ;  for  a 
dislike  to  the  prison  life,  and  a  preference  to  the  enjoyment  of  do- 
mestic quiet  and  liberty,  may  be  the  restraining  causes,  and  not  a 
moral  impression  received  during  imprisonment. 

The  plan  proposed  by  the  reviewer,  of  classifying  the  prison- 
ers, and  confining  them  in  different  establishments, "according  to 
their  degrees  of  criminality,  although  an  improvement  upon  the 
present  bad  plan  of  an  indiscriminate  mixture  of  criminals  of  all 
ages,  and  of  every  degree  of  vice,  would  not  however  accomplish 
the  two  great  objects  of  confinement,  which  ought  constantly  to 
be  kept  in  view,  viz.  punishment,  and  reformation  of  the  criminal. 
Permission  given  to  them  to  work  in  society  diminishes  the 
first  to  a  very  trifling  degree,  and  completely  prevents  the 
last.  Every  one  who  has  had  any  experience  among  criminals 
knows,  that  very  different  degrees  of  vice  are  perceived  among 
young  or  first  offenders,  and  that  a  youth  of  16  years  of  age,  will 
be  able  to  increase  the  corruption  of  mind  in  a  man  of  40.  The 
idea  of  vice,  or  vicious  propensities  being  graduated  by  age,  caa 
only  be  entertained  by  persons  totally  unacquainted  with  the 
inmates  of  a  prison.  Hence  the  absolute  impossibility  of  any 
useful  classification,  of  which  so  much  has  been  recently  written 
in  England,  and  again  urged  by  the  reviewer.  It  may  be  relied 
on  as  an  axiom  in  criminal  jurisprudence,  that  whenever  two  or 
more  criminals  are  in  the  same  apartment,  evil  communications 
will  take  place  among  them,  and  filans  of  future  mischief  will  be 


a  Tale  of  the  Neutral  Ground. 


97 


Birch,  after  a  narrow  escape  from  a  troop  of  horse,  enters  his  hut 
where  he  finds  Katy  and  Csesar  at  the  bedside  of  his  dying 
father : 

"  Is  he  alive  ?"  asked  Birch  tremulously,  and  seemingly  afraid  ' 
to  receive  an  answer  to  his  own  question.  i 

"  Surely,"  said  the  maiden,  rising  hastily,  and  officiously  of- 
fering her  chair  to  the  pedlar,  "  he  must  live  till  day  or  the  tide 
is  down."  .  ■, 

Disregarding  all  but  her  assurance,  the  pedlar  stole  gently  to 
the  room  of  his  dying  parent.  The  tie  which  bound  this  father 
and  son  together  was  one  of  no  ordinary  kind.  In  the  wide  world 
they  were  all  to  each  other.  Had  Katy  but  have  read  a  few  lines 
farther  in  the  record,  she  would  have  seen  the  sad  tale  of  their  mis- 
fortunes. At  one  blow  competence  and  kindred  had  been  swept 
from  before  them,  and  from  that  day  to  the  present  hour,  perse- 
cution and  distress  had  followed  their  wandering  steps.  Ap- 
proaching the  bed  side,  Harvey  leaned  his  body  forward,  and  said, 
in  a  voice  nearly  choked  by  his  feelings— 

"  Father,  do  you  know  me  ?" 

The  parent  slowly  opened  his  eyes,  and  a  smile  of  satisfaction 
passed  over  his  pallid  featui'es,  leaving  behind  it  the  impression 
of  death  in  still  greater  force  from '  the  contrast  The  pedlar 
gave  a  restorative  he  had  brought  with  him  to  the  parched  lips 
of  the  sick  man,  and  for  a  few  minutes  new  vigor  seemed  to  be 
irriparted  to  his  frame.  He  spoke,  but  slowly  and  with  difficultyi 
Curiosity  kept  Katy  silent ;  awe  had  the  same  effect  on  Caesar  ; 
and  Harvey  seemed  hardly  to  bfeathe,  as  he  listened  to  the  IsAi- 
guage  of  the  departing  spirit.  • 

"  My  son,"  said  the  father  in  a  hollow  voice,  "  God  is  as  mer- 
ciful as  he  is  just — if  I  threw  the  cup  of  salvation  from  my  lips 
when  a  youth,  he  graciously  offers  it  to  me  in  mine  age.  He 
chastiseth  to  purify,  and  I  go  to  join  the  spirits  of  our  lost  family. 
In  a  little  while,  my  child,  you  will  be  alone.  I  know  you  too 
well  not  to  foresee  you  will  be  a  lone  pilgrim  through  life.  The 
bruised  reed  may  endure,  but  it  will  never  rise.  You  have  that 
Vithin  you,  Harvey,  that  will  guide  you  aright ;  persevere  as  you 
have  begun,  for  the  duties  of  life  are  never  to  be  neglected — and" 
— A  noise  in  the  adjoining  room  interrupted  the  dying  man,  and 
the  impatient  pedlar  hastened  to  learn  the  cause,  followed  by 
Katy  and  the  black.  The  first  glance  of  his  eye  on  the  figure  in 
the  door-way  told  the  trader  but  too  well  both  his  errand,  and  the 
fate  that  probably  awaited  himself.  The  intruder  was  a  man 
still  young  in  years,  but  his  lineaments  bespoke  a  mind  long  agi- 
tated by  evil  passions.  His  dress  was  of  the  meanest  materials, 
and  so  ragged  and  unseemly,  as  to  give  him  the  appearance  of 
studied  poverty.  His  hair  was  prematurely  whitened,  and  his 
sunken,  lowering  eye  avoided  the  bold,  forward  look  of  innocence. 

VOL.  I.  13 


9.8  The  Spy  ; 

There  \V>a*  a  restlessnes^in  his  movements,  and  agitation  in  his 
.  mannery  that  prbcecded  from,  the  workings  of  the  foul  spirit 
within  hfhrt,  and  which  wa,s  not  less  offensive  to  others  than  dis- 
L  tressing^^o  himself.    This'man  was  a  well  known  leader  of  one 
of  those  gaifes  of  marauders  who  infested  the  county  with  a  sem- 
j  hlance'of-  p4P'iotisif(^  affd,  \^ere  guilty  of  every  grade  of  offence, 
from  simple  theft  up' to  murder,'  Behind  him  stood  several  other 
figuresif.li'd^'a  similar  majihel*,  but  whose  countenances  express- 
^ed  riRtmng.more  than  the  "011110118  indifference  of  brutal  insensi- 
bility,   'rhey  were  all  well  arm^d  with  muskets  and  bayonets, 
and  provided  with  the  usual.implements  of  foot  soldiers.  Har- 
vey kne\y  re'sistance  to  be  vain,  and  quietly  submitted  to  their 
directions.    In  the  twiij^ling  of  an  eye  both  he  and  Caesar  were 
strippe'd  of  their  decent  garments,  and  made  to  exchange  clothes 
with  two  "of  the  filthiest  "(jf  the  band.    T hfey  were  then  placed  in 
separate  corners  of  the  rbom,  and  under  the  muzzles  of  the  mus- 
kets, l^uired  f^fthfully  to  answer  such  i#terrogatoriis  as  were 
put  to  them.       '       ■  ."  , 

"  Where  is  your  pack  ?"  was  the  first  q^estio^  to  tjie  pedlar, 
i^"  Hear  me,"  said'Birch,  treijpbling  wjjh  agutation;  ^  in'tthe 
next  room  is  my  father  no«  in  the  agonigs  of  deuth  ;ftt  me  go  to 
him,  receivejhis  blessing, Aid  plose  hisses,  land  you  shall  have 
\ll4-aye,  all.'   ^       '        f      '  ■   ■  <  '\ 

"  A|iswer  me  as  I  put  thfr^qAstions,  or  Ai^musket  shall  send 
you  to  keep  the  old  xirivelle(j/;4mpany-^wher9  is  your  pick  ?" 

"  I  will  tell  you  nothing  unless  you*let  nn^  gS.tp  my  father, 
s^id  the  pedlar  resolutely.  ^  •  •       ^  * 

His  persecutor  i|[ised  hisiarm  ^iroa  mal^iou^neer,  and  was 


about  to  execute  his  threat,  jjvhen  j^fof  his]^o minions  checked 
'  hitA,  and  cried —  I        *•       '■  VjC 

"  What  would  you  do  ?  ybu  sirely'forge^Therewardp^Jdlus 
where  are  your  goods,  and  yj^u^^hall  go  to'^oufifather/H^H^ 

Birch  complied  instantly,  aiKLa  riian  was  despatched  in  quest 
of  the  booty  :  he  sdon  returnec^<nTowtng  the  b\^dle  on  the  floor, 
^  swearing  it  was  as  light  as  featK^rs.     \)     >  4 

"  Ay,"  cried  the  leader,  "  tbeTC  must  be  gold  somewhere  for 
what  it  did  contain ;  give  us  yoi^',gold,'4lr.  Birch ;  we  know  you 
have  it ;  you  will  not  take  contintnt^l  n^'t  you." 

"  You  break  your  faith,"  said  Harycjj''  sullenly. 
_^  "  Give  us  your  gold,"  exclardlffd  t^i£  other  furiously,  pricking 
^ifhe  pedlar  with  his  boyonet  unAl'i^g|^food  followed  his  pushes  in 
'strcan^s.    At  this  instant  a  sligivfrncurement  was  heard  in  the  ad- 
'.joiniVig  room,  and  Harvey  crkd  irnmoringly — 

"  Let  me — let  me  go  to  myfalh^.and  you  shall  have  all." 
"  I  swear  you  shall  go  ther^'  sai^  ^^.e  skinner. 
'■'  "  Here  take  the  trash,"  cr^eJ  Bircli,  as^e  threw  aside  the 
purse,  which  he  had  contrivecTt^klcot^ceal,  notwithstanding  the 


change  in  his  garments. 


Prison  Discifiline 


113 


matured.  I  have  elsewhere*  referred  to  a  fact  in  direct  proof  of 
this  position,  on  the  authority  of  the  late  Judge  Rush  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  well  known  Sir  John  Fielding,  so  long  a  police 
magistrate  in  London,  amply  experienced  in  criminal  affairs,  and 
in  all  the  habits  and  wiles  of  Newgate,  many  years  since  stated  a 
similar  fact.  A  recent  occurrence,  affords  additional  proof  in  point. 
The  Boston  Gazette,  of  December,  1821,  contains  a  letter  from 
a  convict  in  the  state  prison  of  Massachusetts,  directed  to  a  gen- 
tleman of  that  to^v^l,  stating  that  "  the  late  robbery  of  the  store 
of  Messrs.  R.  D.  Tucker  &  Co.  was  planned  in  the  prison,  and 
that  he  had  numbered  twenty-five  stores  in  Boston,  against  the 
proprietors  of  which  conspiracies  are  planned  for  their  robbery." 
One  of  the  great  benefits  which  the  friends  to  humanity  promised 
themselves,  would  result  from  the  confinement  of  convicts  at  la- 
bour in  prison,  was  the  acquisition  of  a  trade,  or  the  improve- 
ment in  one  already  partially  acquired,  and  by  which  they  might 
obtain  a  living  after  their  release.  Nothing  in  theory  can  be  more 
plausible,  yet  nothing  is  found  more  opposite  to  the  supposed 
consequence  of  such  instruction  :  for  no  instance  has  occurred 
of  any  trade  having  been  followed  that  was  learnt  in  prison ;  but 
many  undeniable  proofs  have  been  afforded  of  the  manual  skill 
acquired  in  confinement,  being  used  to  enable  convicts  more  suc- 
cessfully to  commit  depredations  on  society  after  their  release. 
The  letter  of  the  convict  just  quoted,  stated  further, "  that  the  ma- 
chinery for  the  execution  of  the  robberies  then  planned  in  Boston, 
were  all  prepared  in  prison,  viz.  false  keys,  machinery  for  cut- 
ting off  the  heads  of  bolts,  of  a  very  compact  and  curious 
construction,  together  with  instruments  for  opening  window- 
shutters,  the  ingenuity  of  which  would  command  a  patent,  if  ex- 
ecuted in  a  good  cause. t  The  machinery  for  the  robbery  of 
Messrs.  Tuckers,  and  for  a  variety  of  other  purposes  equally  des- 
tructive to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  society,  were  made  there."  It 


•  Observations  on  the  Penitentiary  System  of  Pennsylvania,  1820.^ 
f  Governor  Brooks  says  that  in  the  recent  insurrection  in  the  state  prison  of 
ilassachusetts,  many  of  the  convicts  were  armed  with  deadly  weapons,  which 
had  been  forged  in  the  workshops.     Communication  to  Mass,  Legislature, 
Jan.  1822. 


VOL.  I.  1 5 


Il-i 


'Prison  Discifiiine. 


may  be  remarked  by  the  way,  that  this  letter  speaks  very  little 
for  the  discipline  of  an  establishment  which  permits  the  convicts 
thus  to  occupy  their  time,  and  their  leaving  it  with  the  predatory 
tools  about  them.  Solitary  confinement  will  be  free  from  all 
such  misapplication  of  time  and  talents.  Shall  we  hear  any  more 
of  the  benefits  arising  from  working  classified  convicts  in  so- 
cieties ? 

Another  evil  arising  from  convicts  working  in  society,  is  the 
^  murders  that  are  committed  by  convicts  of  their  fellow  prison- 
ers. Two  or  three  instances  of  this  have  occurred  in  the  jail  of 
Philadelphia,  (one  last  year)  owing  to  a  suspicion  being  enter- 
tained of  the  sufferer  having  given  information  of  a  plot  to  es- 
cape. Another  was  recently  committed  in  the  state  prison  of 
Massachusetts  from  the  same  cause.  What  has  happened  will 
happen  again.  Solitary  confinement  will  effectually  prevent  such 
occurrences. 

A  still  greater  evil,  proceeding  from  the  assemblage  of  con- 
victs in  workshops  or  in  the  prison  yard,  is  their  insurrection 
and  attempt  to  escape.  One  we  have  seen  lately  took  place  in  the 
Massachusetts  prison.  In  March  1820,  a  very  serious  attempt 
was  made  in  the  Philadelphia  prison.  The  convicts  had  actually 
reached  the  outer  gate,  but  were  dismayed  by  seeing  through  the 
key  hole,  the  street  filled  with  armed  men  formally  drawn  up,  and 
by  the  entrance  of  others  into  the  yard  from  the  front.  It  was  ascer- 
tained that  in  the  case  of  their  having  succeeded  in  breaking  jaiL 
the  city  was  to  be  set  on  fire  in  several  places.  The  consequences' 
■  to  society  of  nearly  500  convicts  being  at  liberty,  and  excited  to 
ihadness,  may  be  easily  conceived.  Solitary  confinement  will 
prevent  insurrections.  The  Reviewer  speaks  of  the  alleged  anxiety 
of  some  convicts  to  enter  our  penitentiaries,  arising  from  the  ex- 
cellent fare  they  enjoy  there,  as  "  a  stufiid  bravado."  If  such 
an  opinion  is  to  cause  the  application  of  those  epithets,  it  will  be 
some  consolation  to  the  concerned  to  know  that  the  persons  thus 
implicated,  are  by  no  means  few ;  for  the  opinion  has  been  very 
generally  entertained  :  nor  does  it  follow,  that  because  the  crimi- 
nals do  make  attempts  to  escape,  some  did  not  commit  crimes  to 
entitle  them  to  the  superior  comforts  of  the  prison ;  because  al- 
though they  may  have  been  urged  by  hunger  and  cold  to  steal, 
yet  having  enjoyed  the  benefits  provided  for  them  in  the  house, 


Prison  Discipline. 


115 


for  some  time,  they  may  forget  their  former  sufferings ;  and  their 
constitutional  restlesness  returning  on  the  approach  of  warpi 
weather,  they  sigh  for  a  change,  and  for  liberty  once  more  to  in- 
dulge in  the  "  sins  that  so  strongly  beset  them,"  and  are  willing 
to  take  their  chance  for  bettei-  fortune  in  future,  to  enable  them  to 
live  at  large  on  the  produce  of  their  vocations,  during  a  succeed- 
ing winter.  Besides,  the  attempt  to  escape,  which  the  Reviewer 
thinks  proves  the  absurdity  of  the  assertion  in  question,  may  be 
made  by  those  .who  do  not  seek  a  refuge  in  jail  from  hunger  and 
cold,  and  those  who  do,  may  have  declined  interfering  ;  during 
the  alarming  insurrection  that  took  place  in  the  Philadelphia 
prison,  two  years  since,  many  refused  to  join  the  rioters.  But  the 
determination  of  the  point  is  of  little  importance :  that  the  ex- 
pression however  has  been  uttered  by  a  man  sentenced  for  one 
month's  confinement  during  the  winter,  to  the  Philadelphia 
workhouse,  and  apparently  with  great  sincerity,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.*  The  prison  has  long  ceased  to  have  terrors,  and  to  attribute 
this  fearlesness  to  the  enjoyment  of  protection  from  the  weather, 
and  of  warmth  in  winter,  and  food,  all  of  which  most  of  the  con- 
victs would  be  deprived  of  if  at  full  liberty,  is  not  an  unreason- 
able, much  less  a  stupid  idea.  This  absence  of  fear  will  most 
certainly  prevail  so  long  as  the  prisons  shall  continue  to  be  places 
of  comparative  comfort,  and  not  of  suffering,  and  so  long  will 
they  be  filled  by  a  succession  of  inhabitants.  The  sooner  there- 
fore the  discipline  is  changed,  and  made  to  assume  a  proper  cha- 
racter, the  better.  When  the  incorrigible  who  are  now  existing, 
shall  have  finished  their  evil  courses,  and  gone  to  their  last  ac- 
count, we  may  hope  that  by  the  help  of  the  general  diffusion  of 
moral  education  among  the  rising  classes  of  society,  a  diminu- 
tion of  crime  will  take  place.  What  that  does  not  effect,  rigid 
solitary  confinement  £ind  transportation  will  complete. t 


*The  man  shivering  with  cold,  asked  the  constable,  when  going  to  prison, 
how  long  he  was  to  be  confined  ?  he  was  told  one  montli. — "Oh,"  said  he, 
shrugging  his  shoulders,  "  I  wish  it  were  for  three  .'" 

■j- "  Prisons,  says  Holford,  should  be  considered  as  places  of  punishment, 
and  not  as  scenes  of  cheerfid  industr}'." — See  Ed.  Rev.  .\'o.  70,  p.  279.  And 
in  the  words  of  another  ^mte^,  "  no  punishment  will  be  found  to  be  wise  or 
humane,  or  just  or  effectual,  that  is  not  the  natural  reaction  of  a  man's  o-wn  con- 
duct on  fas  own  head,  or  the  making  him  feel  in  his  own  person,  the  conse- 


116 


'  Prison  DUcifiline. 


The  reviewer  recommends  to  the  other  States  a  recent  law  of 
Massachusetts,  which  condemns  criminals  to  a  further  term  of 
seven  years  because  of  a  second  conviction,  and  to  imprisonment 
for  life,  if  they  come  there  a  third  time.  Seven  convicts  are  now 
confined  for  life  under  this  law.  In  this  way,  he  says,  all  those 
who  are  incorrigible  will  be  taken  away  from  preying  on  the  pub- 
lic, and  having  leanied  a  trade  in  the  prison,  can  be  advantage- 
ously employed.  The  objection  to  this  plan  is,  the  multiplica- 
tion of  such  criminals  which  will  result  from  its  adoption,  and 
the  inevitable  existence  of  the  following  evils : 

1.  Upon  the  supposition  that  the  convicts  are  to  be  kept  at 
work  in  society,  agreeably  to  the  idea  of  the  reviewer,  these  in- 
veterate rogues  will  serve  as  teachers  to  their  less  accomplished 
associates,  the  bad  effects  of  which  tuition  are  well  known,  and 
greatly  deplored  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  causes  of  prevent- 
ing a  change  in  the  habits  of  vicious  men,  which  was  expected 
from  the  substitutioif  of  hard  labour  and  confinement.  If  they 
are  kept  by  themselves,  upon  the  theoretical  principle  of  classifi- 
cation, they  will  mutually  corrupt  one  another,  and  all  hope  of 
amendment  or  change  of  mind  v.  ill  be  at  an  end. 

2.  If  confined  in  solitary  cells,  they  would  take  up  the  room 
that  ought  to  be  reserved  for  first  offenders,  of  whom  some  ex- 
pectation of  reformation  might  be  entertained. 

3.  From  their  numbers,  the  expense  of  the  prison  would  be 
greatly  increased  ;  and  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  sell  all  their 
work,  unless  at  reduced  prices,  the  support  of  honest  citizens,  at 
a  time  when  there  is  little  demand  for  labour,  might  be  interfered 
with. 

4.  The  confinement  of  the  criminals  must  be  recommended 
solely  upon  the  principle  of  just  punishment  for  crimes,  and  as  a 


quences  of  tlie  injui-y  he  has  meditated  against  otliers. "—£</.  Itev.  J\'o.  70,  p. 
346.  Working  in  society  prevents  such  reflections.  "  The  case  is  different 
with  the  prisoner  doomed  to  tlie  solitaiy  cell.  There  the  hand  of  justice 
presses  on  him  with  grievous  weight.  The  cold  rough  walls  that  encircle  him, 
the  unvarying  shades  that  liang  around,  and  the  deatlj-like  silence,  only  bro- 
ken by  the  clanking  of  wearying  chains,  remind  him  of  the  violated  law,  and 
teach  him  that  "the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard."  There  b\nied  in  solitude 
the  fire  of  the  spirit  may  be  subdued,  remorse  may  be  succeeded  by  repent- 
ance, and  the  punishment  may  be  productive  of  reform."  Emporiian,  Dec.  1821. 


Frison  Discipline. 


117 


safeguard  against  their  future  depredations.  Reformation  is  out 
of  the  question.  As  it  certainly  can  do  society  no  possible  good 
to  imprison  them,  merely  as  a  punishment,  their  long,  or  perpetual 
confinement  does  not  seem  to  constitute  a  reason  sufficiently 
strong  to  justify  its  infliction ;  it  is,  therefore,  certainly  a  more 
eligible  plan  to  send  them  away  to  the  place  proposed,  to  which 
the  objections  just  urged  do  not  apply,  where  the  safety  of  the 
public  from  their  future  depredations,  will  be  as  great  as  by  their 
confinement  in  prison,  and  where  there  will  be  some  chance  of  a 
reformation.  They  will  indeed  be  in  society,  but  under  circum- 
stances so  different  from  those  in  a  prison,  as  not  to  justify  the 
belief  that  contamination  will  take  place,  even  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  an  inequality  in  the  scale  of  guilt  prevailed  among 
them,  because  from  the  obvious  necessity  that  will  appear  of  de- 
pending upon  their  own  labour  for  existence,  they  will  be  "  ad- 
vantageously employed,"  and  so  constantly  in  tilling  the  earth, 
in  some  mechanical  occupation,  or  in  fishing,  as  not  to  afford 
time  to  think  of  mischief.  There  can,  moreover,  be  no  induce- 
ment to  lay  schemes  for  future  robbery,  or  to  break  prison  ;  and 
the  severe  discipline  established  by  themselves,  M'ill  insure  the 
enjoyment  to  every  man  of  his  own  little  property.  The  crimi- 
nal will  no  longer  be  forced  to  act  at  the  will  of  a  keeper,  but  will 
become  a  free  agent,  and  one  of  the  lords  of  the  soil  which  he 
cultivates. 

If  it  be  an  argument  in  favour  of  perpetual  imprisonment,  that 
"  we  shall  no  more  hear  of  a  fourth  conviction,"  it  certainly  is  a 
stronger  one  in  favour  of  transportation  that  we  shall  not  hear  of 
a  third,  or,  for  some  offences,  even  of  a  second,  and  that  thus  the 
expense  of  one  or  of  two  convictions,  of  supporting  the  criminals 
in  prison  for  a  time  previously  to  trial,  and  of  paying  for  the  ex- 
cess of  the  cost  of  their  maintenance  over  the  value  of  their  la- 
bour, while  serving  out  the  periods  of  conviction,  will  be  saved. 
It  might  be  added,  as  a  consideration  of  no  small  importance, 
that,  by  their  removal  at  an  earlier  date  than  after  a  third  con- 
viction, there  will  be  a  vast  gain,  as  respects  morality,  among 
the  inferior  classes  of  society ;  for  it  may  be  easily  conceived 
that  the  infection  diffused  by  three  or  four  hundred  reprobates, 
for  seven  or  ten  years,  during  which  they  may  be  supposed 
to  be  at  large  before  they  would  commit  a  third  offence,  and  be 


118 


Letters  from  the  We.it. 


finally  shut  up  for  life,  must  be  great.  He  who  is  not  reformed 
after  one  imprisonment,  or  deterred  from  repeating  crimes,  after 
having  once  experienced  the  discipline  of  the  institution,  will 
not  be  affected  by  a  second  experiment ;  the  absurdity  of  mak- 
ing it,  therefore,  must  be  evident.  Besides,  on  the  principles  of 
humanity  and  moral  justice  to  the  miserable  wretch  himself,  it 
ought  not  to  be  repeated,  because  every  new  association  with 
criminals  in  a  jailonly  tends  to  increase  or  confirm  his  evil  habits, 
and  to  lessen  his  chance  of  reform.  Transportation  will  prevent 
this  wide  spread  of  moral  contamination. 

It  is  pleasing  to  find  that  my  recommendation  of  transporta- 
tion for  life  is  supported  by  Mr.  Harmer,  a  gentleman  who  "  has 
been  concerned  during  twenty  years  in  constant  trials  at  the  old 
Bailey,  and  who  is  equally  distinguished  by  assiduity,  acuteness, 
and  humanity  in  his  profession.  '  As  to  transportation,  I  think 
it  ought  to  be  for  life  ;  if  it  is  for  seven  years,  the  novelty  of  the 
thing,  and  the  prospect  of  returning  to  their  friends  and  asso- 
ciates, reconciles  offenders  to  it,  so  that  in  fact  they  consider  it 
no  punishment,  and  when  this  sentence  is  passed  upon  men,  they 
frequently  say, '  Thank  you,  my  Lord.'  Indeed  this  is  a  common 
expression  used  every  session  by  prisoners  when  sentenced  to 
seven  years  transportation.'  "* 

When  an  Englishman  talks  of  transportation,  he  refers  to  Bot- 
any Bay,  which  has  become,  comparatively,  to  British  convicts,  a 
happy  residence  ;  but  the  place  and  plan  proposed  for  American 
convicts  are  far  superior :  on  these,  there  is  nooccasion  to  enlarge, 
as  both  have  been  treated  of  in  the  publication  already  alluded  to. 

MEDICUS. 


Aht.  IV. — Letters  from  the  West.  Letter  IV^. 
I  had  not  been  long  on  board  of  the  boat,  when  I  discovered  that 
its  progress  was  frequently  so  slow  as  to  allow  me  to  make  short 
excursions  on  the  shore.  Such  opportunities  were  too  precious 
to  be  lost ;  accordingly,  equipped  in  a  light  summer  .dress,  with 
a  fowling-piece  on  my  shoulder,  I  invaded,  sometimes  one  bank, 
and  sometimes  the  other,  waging  war  against  the  squirrels  of 
Virginia,  Ohio,  or  Kentucky,  as  was  most  convenient.    Thus  I 


•  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Criminal  Laws  of  England,  1819,  p. 
100,— Kdhib.  liei'.  No.  70. 


Letters  from  the  West. 


119 


gained  sport,  and  healthful  exercise,  and  procured  a  grateful  ad- 
dition to  my  frugal  meals.  In  these  digressions,  I  frequently  en- 
countered the  inhabitants,  and  could  make  enquiries  respecting 
the  country.  At  their  cabii\s  I  would  always  procure  a  refresh- 
ing draught  of  milk,  as  well  as  a  dish  of  conversation ;  and  if  I 
had  found  nothing  else,  I  believe  I  should  have  been  amply  re- 
paid for  my  trouble,  in  gazing  at  the  droves  of  chubby  children, 
who  are  mentioned  in  the  Navigator,  as  a  staple  commodity  of 
the  country.  They  are  almost  as  plenty  as  the  squirrels ;  and  as 
plump  and  ruddy,  as  health  and  cleanliness  can  make  them.  By 
welking  at  a  brisk  pace  along  the  shore,  I  could  keep  ahead  of 
the  boat,  when  the  men  were  not  rowing ;  thus  I  could  pop  over 
the  squirrels,  talk  to  the  men,  take  a  peep  at  the  women,  and  kiss— 
the  children,  while  I  was  jogging  on  my  way. 

On  these  occasions,  I  had  opportunities  of  examining  into  the 
correctness  of  the  assertion,  made  by  almost  all  the  English  tra- 
vellers. They  describe  our  people,  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life, 
as  possessing  a  Certain  surly  independence,  which  they  delight 
to  display  on  every  occasion ;  which  induces  them  to  insult  a 
well-dressed  stranger,  whenever  they  get  an  opportunity ;  and  to 
render  any  services  which  they  may  be  called  on  to  perform, 
with  an  air  of  doing  a  favour;  so  that  while  they  pocket  your 
money  they  remind  you  that  they  are  your  equals.  I  shall  also 
notice  at  the  same  time,  an  assertion,  made  by  a  writer  in  the 
Edinburgh  Review ;  he  says,  "  They,  of  the  Western  Country, 
are  hospitable  to  strangers,  because  they  are  seldom  troubled  with 
them  ;  and  because  they  have  plenty  of  maize  and  smoked  harns. 
Their  hospitality,  too,  is  always  accompanied  with  imfiertinent 
questions,  and  a  disgusting  display  of  national  vanity."  If  the 
author  of  this  precious  scrap  had  ever  visited  the  country  he  li- 
bels, he  would  find  that  it  contains  as  many  distinct  falsehoods, 
as  could  conveniently  be  crowded  into  so  small  a  paragraph.  No 
country  is  more  "troubled"  with  strangers,  than  this;  they 
swarm  the  land,  spreading  themselves  over  it  in  every  direction ; 
every  stream  is  traced,  every  forest  explored,  and  the  taverns  of 
every  little  village,  have  at  times  been  filled  and  overflowing  with 
the  crowds  brought  hither  by  emigration,  by  curiosity,  or  by  bu- 
siness. Many  of  these  are  needy  wanderers  from  the  very  land 
whose  writers  thus  abuse  us,  who,  destitute  of  the  means  of  sub- 


120 


Letters  from  the  West. 


sistence,  and  of  any  knowledge  of  the  country,  must  needs  be  in- 
debted to  its  inhabitants,  for  food  to  support,  and  advice  to  guide 
their  steps.  The  hospitality  of  the  West,  is  best  known  to  those 
who  have  experienced  it. 

"  Meat  for  keen  famine,  and  the  generous  juice, 
That  warms  chill  life,  her  chai-ities  produce." 

But  if  that  hospitality  is  caused  by  the  abundance  witli  which 
Heaven  has  blessed  our  prolific  country,  it  springs  from  that 
which  we  suspect  seldom  troubles  these  Scotish  gentry,  and 
whose  charities,  by  the  same  rule,  ought  to  be  very  sparing. 
The  critic  might  have  found  a  better  reason;  it  is,  that  their 
hearts  are  as  generous  as  they  are  brave — the  latter  quality  not 
being  denied  them  even  in  "  the  fast  anchored  isle."  The  same 
spirit  which  glowed  at  Chippewa,  on  Lake  Eric,  and  at  New-Or- 
leans, still  illumines  the  shadows  of  our  Western  forests;  in  war 
it  produced  daring  achievements,  in  peace  it  warms  the  heart  to 
acts  of  charity  and  mercy. 

If  a  foreigner,  in  passing  through  our  country,  grasps  at  every 
occasion  to  make  invidious  comparisons,  sneering  at  its  popu- 
lation, its  manners,  and  its  institutions,  and  sextoling  those  of 
his  native  land,  nothing  is  said  oi  national  vanity.  When  it  was 
determined  in  England  to  tear  the  "  striped  bunting,"  from  the 
mast  heads  of  our  frigates,  and  to  "  sweep  the  Yankey  cock- 
boats" from  the  ocean,  no  national  vanity  was  displayed  at  all. 
When  the  very  Review  in  question,  tells  us  that  England  is  the 
bulwark  of  religion,  the  arbiter  of  the  fates  of  kingdoms,  the  last 
refuge  of  freedom,  there  is  no  national  vanity  in  the  business— 
not  a  spice.  But  if  a  plain  back-woodsman,  ventures  to  praise 
his  own  country,  because  he  finds  all  his  wants  supplied,  and  all 
his  rights  defended  ;  while  he  is  not  pestered  with  tax-gatherers, 
and  excise-men  ;  while  he  sees  no  dragoons  galloping  about  his 
cottage,  and  is  allowed  to  vote  for  whom  he  pleases  to  represent 
him — all  of  which  he  is  told,  and  has  good  reason  to  believe,  is 
ordered  differently  in  another  country — this  is  "  a  disgusting  dis- 
play of  national  vanity."  If  he  ventures  to  exhibit  a  shattered 
limb,  or  a  breast  covered  with  scars,  and  to  tell  that  he  received 
these  honourable  marks,  in  defence  of  his  native  land,  on  an  occa- 


